Fragments of Darkness
by WitandAmbition
Summary: After getting attacked by dementors, Harry Potter comes to Grimmauld Place. But things are different this time: He might be Harry Potter, but he isn't the one they had been waiting for. In fact, he's a different person entirely.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Warning: Swearing. That's about it.

UNDER REVISION

* * *

Harry cried out as he was knocked to the ground; in an effort to run away from the dementors, Dudley had slammed into him.

"Shit," Harry spat out. "Wand? Where's my wand? _Accio_ wand!"

He suppressed a sigh of relief when he felt his wand connect with his hand. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on a happy thought. _The twins' first accidental magic… Mum reading us to sleep… Catching the Snitch for the first time…_

The last memory ended up being the one that worked as he recalled the adrenaline and glee at beating his father, who had been beaming with pride. Drawing on that old warmth, Harry opened his eyes.

 _"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

A silvery form in the shape of a stag burst out of his wand and eagerly hunted down the dementors. The stag reached Dudley just in time to stop the dementor from giving him the kiss. Lowering its head, the stag rammed into the dementor and threw it into the air. Even as the dementor fled, the stag pursued it down the street.

Harry bent over Dudley as the stag returned to him.

"Thanks, Dad," Harry murmured.

The stag nuzzled him before disappearing into mist.

Harry cast a cheering charm on Dudley, who was still curled up shivering on the ground. The charm should reduce the effects on the great useless lump of weight until Harry could get him some chocolate. The bar that Harry had in his pocket was for himself.

Finally Harry got Dudley to sit up.

"What happened?" whispered Dudley.

"A dementor attack," Harry said grimly. "You couldn't see them because you're a Muggle, but they're… monsters, I suppose you could call them, which guard the wizarding prison. They suck all of the happiness out of you and leave you a husk."

Dudley's eyes widened in fear. "They're _your_ sort?"

"I'm a wizard, not a soul-sucking demon," Harry snapped.

This only made Dudley shiver even more. Harry vaguely wondered what bad memories Dudley had seen. Perhaps it had been of him helping abuse his own, much smaller cousin…

Hearing footsteps running toward them, Harry spun around, still crouched but with his wand raised. When he saw an elderly woman, strands of gray hair escaping from her net and her eyes wild, his lips began to form a spell.

"Wait!" she cried, holding her handbag in front of her face as if it could protect her. "It's me, you stupid boy! Your neighbor, Mrs. Figg!"

Harry thought insulting him wasn't a good way to endear herself to him.

"Why should I trust you?" he said suspiciously.

She peered over her bag at him. "Dumbledore sent me. Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher! He was supposed to be protecting you, but no! He _had_ to check on that batch of cauldrons…"

The woman continued to rant. Harry watched her, waiting for her to draw a wand, but she made no such move.

"You're a Squib," he concluded, his lip curling. "How's a Squib supposed to protect me?"

Mrs. Figg huffed. "That's _exactly_ my point. I'm going to kill him!"

Harry listened with only half an ear as he surveyed the area. _The man who was following me? I wouldn't trust him to return a quill, much less to protect me._

Suddenly she stooped down, and Harry automatically began to prepare another spell before he realized she was only trying to pick up Dudley. He watched her attempts with a great deal of interest. Finally she gave up and kicked one of Dudley's tree trunk legs.

" _Get up,_ you useless lump!"

Dudley didn't even move. Sighing, Harry stowed his wand and pulled on Dudley's arm. Harry strained against Dudley's weight but managed to get him to his feet.

"There. Can you walk?"

Dudley's teeth chattered as he nodded. His small eyes were roving all over the place, looking for something he could not see.

"Lead the way, Mrs. Figg," Harry said, keeping a hand out in case Dudley suddenly collapsed. With his other hand he drew his wand again. Everything about this situation was suspicious.

"He's much better than I expected," she noted. "What did you do to him?"

"Dudley's a naturally happy person," Harry replied. "The dementors were scared of him."

 _Well, if it were Daisy, it'd be true._

Mrs. Figg trotted ahead of them, peering anxiously around the corner. Dudley dutifully followed Harry, oddly subdued.

"Keep your wand out," Mrs. Figg ordered. "Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery... This was _exactly_ what Dumbledore was afraid of-what's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just Mr. Prentice..."

Harry's brows furrowed. "Dudley and I live together, so he already knows about us. He was the only Muggle around to see me use magic, and anyway, it was in self-defense."

"The Ministry wouldn't care about that," she said, wringing her hands. "When Dumbledore hears about this – how could Mundungus have left, he was supposed to be on duty until midnight – _where is he_? How am I going to tell Dumbledore what's happened? I can't Apparate –"

Harry opened his mouth to ask if she was connected to the Floo System just as there was a loud crack. Dudley shrieked and Harry had to grab onto him to keep him from falling. Harry raised his wand threateningly at the squat man in front of them; his nose wrinkled in disgust, and even Dudley gagged.

The man emitted a strong smell of drink mingled with stale tobacco. He stared at them with bloodshot, baggy eyes that gave him the doleful look of a basset hound. In his hands he held an Invisibility Cloak, which Harry knew was a cheaper knock-off of his own.

"'S' up, Figgy?' the man said. "What 'appened to staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover!" Mrs. Figg snarled. " _Dementors_ , you useless, skiving sneak thief! Here in Little Whinging, you worthless pile of bat droppings, here! Dementors attacking the boy on your watch!"

"Blimey," the man said incredulously. "Blimey, I…"

Harry guessed this was Mundungus Fletcher. He could see why Mrs. Figg wasn't impressed by the man. Dumbledore could find much better riffraff than this to be a conman for the Order.

The adults continued to fight, with Mrs. Figg even swinging her heavy bag at Mundungus. At long last, Mundungus ceased cowering and vanished with another loud crack. Mrs. Figg walked Harry and Dudley the rest of the way to Number Four, Privet Drive without offering up any more meaningful information. Harry scowled after her retreating form before following Dudley into the house.

"Diddy!" Petunia cried. "About time too, I was getting quite – quite – Diddy, what's the matter?"

"I'm fine, Mum," he mumbled as she helped him to a chair in the kitchen. "Harry…"

"The boy?" Vernon roared, who had just entered from the living room. "What did he do to you?"

"Saved his life," Harry said bluntly. "Get him some chocolate and he should be okay."

Vernon snarled. "You think this is funny, boy? What did you do to my son?"

"Dad," Dudley said weakly. "Really, Harry saved me. There… There were these things… What did you call 'em, Harry?"

Before Harry could answer, an owl swooped in through the open window and dropped a letter in front of Harry. He ignored Vernon's shouts about more owls and read the contents. His derisive laugh stopped Vernon short.

 _Wow, I didn't know the Ministry was_ this _stupid. Mum would tear them apart._

Harry tossed the letter into the rubbish bin. His infraction wasn't bad enough to qualify him for expulsion.

"In answer to your question, Dudley," he said, "those were dementors."

"What's this codswallop?" demanded Vernon.

"De-men-tors," Harry repeated slowly. "They guard our prison."

"You freaks have your own prison?"

"Azkaban," whispered Petunia.

The kitchen was silent after she spoke. Petunia covered her mouth as if she had uttered a bad word while her husband gaped at her.

Harry's brows rose before he remembered. _Her sister was a witch. Of course she knows some things._

Then another owl arrived with a message. This one was from Arthur Weasley, instructing Harry to remain inside and not to surrender his wand to the Ministry. He folded the letter and looked back at Petunia.

"Don't worry, Snape will get his comeuppance," he told her. "What he's done to my family and others can _never_ be forgiven."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Vernon looked between her and Harry, his mustache twitching with uncertainty.

More owls came. One was from the Ministry; apparently Dumbledore had gotten them to change their minds, and instead he would have a disciplinary hearing. The other wasn't signed, but again told Harry not to leave the house.

After that, he explained to Petunia and Vernon everything that had happened. Petunia seemed grateful that Harry had saved Dudley's soul, for when she made Dudley a cup of hot chocolate, she offered one to Harry, too. He took it silently, unsure of what to do in response.

"So these dementoids were after you?" Vernon grunted.

Harry met his eyes. "Probably. Voldemort is back, and he doesn't give a damn about killing some Muggles to get to me."

Vernon's face turned purple, but Petunia cut him off before he could speak.

"Back?" she breathed.

Harry shifted under her gaze and nodded. She sank into the chair beside Dudley, her pale eyes wide and fearful, but when she spoke her voice didn't tremble as Harry expected.

"He'll suffer, too," she said, resolute rather than questioning.

"Definitely," agreed Harry. "We'll get them all."

 **~FoD~**

Despite Vernon's protests, Petunia insisted that Harry stay. She had received a Howler that spoke in a rather forbidding voice which Harry knew belonged to Dumbledore. The man's meddling wasn't really needed at that point, but at least now Harry knew for certain that the Order would be arriving for him in only a few days.

Readily obeying Vernon's order to go upstairs, Harry shut himself into the bathroom. He leaned close to the mirror, trying to see the lump beneath his messy black hair from where Dudley had hit him. It still throbbed, but since he was in a Muggle house, he couldn't do anything but take a few pills for the pain.

A knock on the door startled him.

"Harry?" Dudley called. "I, uh, just… Thank you. Goodnight."

Harry dropped his hand and stared at his reflection. _Crap. Now I feel bad for not giving him the chocolate._

The guilt was easily fixable, though. He wrenched the door open.

"Wait, Dudley."

Dudley turned back to look at him, seeming just as uncomfortable as Harry.

"Here." Harry tossed him the candy bar, and Dudley fumbled to catch it. "Wizarding chocolate is better. Go ahead and eat it."

Dudley looked down at the bar suspiciously. "Will it give me a tail or something?"

"What? No," Harry said, surprised. "I promise. And… Thanks. For telling the truth."

They continued to stare at each other.

"Right." Harry cleared his throat and shuffled toward his bedroom. "G'night, Dudley."

"Night," Dudley mumbled after a long moment.

Entering his room, Harry tossed his walnut wand onto the nightstand and threw himself down on the bed. After such an exhausting day, he fell asleep almost immediately. He was only woken briefly by a snowy white owl, which looked at him oddly before hopping toward its cage.

 **~FoD~**

"Good boy… Good boy… Whoa!"

Harry swiftly retracted his hand as the owl nipped at his fingers.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you're a girl. You looked like a boy, okay?"

The owl clicked her beak and glared at him with amber eyes.

Feeling oddly chastised, Harry continued looking around the room. It was rather small and sparse, and he didn't know what to think about the cat-flap on the bedroom door. From the state of the room, he would call it a cell; there were even bars on the window. Harry was almost surprised there wasn't a toilet in the corner.

He inspected a childish drawing taped to the door of the wardrobe and glanced at the owl again. "Hedwig. Is that your name?"

She remained silent, but Harry thought her gaze wasn't quite so reproving now.

For the past three days Harry had been trying to learn as much as he could about the person for whom he had taken over. The Dursley family had mostly left him alone except for meal times, in which Vernon would glare at Harry and mutter not so quietly under his breath; Petunia avoided looking at Harry; and Dudley would grunt in acknowledgement of Harry before shoveling more food into his mouth. No more letters had arrived since the day of the attack, and Harry was anxiously waiting for the announcement that he could flee this tension.

He had just discovered the loose floorboard beneath the bed when someone rapped on his door, causing Harry to startle and crack his head on the underside of the bed. Hastily he covered the hiding place before Vernon entered.

"What are you doing under there?" demanded Vernon.

"I dropped my quill," Harry said, crawling out.

Vernon sniffed. "I don't understand why you lot use those things. Pens work much better."

Unable to debate this, Harry shrugged.

"Anyway, we're going out," Vernon announced.

Harry took in the walrus' suit. _Nope, not suspicious at all. I'm put under house arrest and they're invited out to an event. I guess this is my warning that the Order is coming._

"Okay," he said. "Have fun."

Vernon's brow wrinkled as if he couldn't believe that Harry wasn't arguing. After another moment, he left, closing and locking the door behind him. Then Harry heard the family trooping outside to the car, Dudley asking his father why Harry wasn't coming and Vernon grunting out, "He wasn't invited," before the car doors slammed and they drove away.

While Harry waited for the Order to arrive, he checked that he had everything in his trunk and that it was secure. He didn't want any of the Order members trying to snoop around and invading his privacy. Then he went back to investigating a small collection of pictures, memorizing the faces in them.

The first sign that the Order had turned up was when Hedwig hooted.

The second sign was when Harry heard a crash from downstairs.

He sighed. _Even Caelum and Daniel could make a quieter entrance._

It sounded like someone was getting a quiet lecture. The group certainly weren't bothering to keep their voices down as they headed toward the stairs.

The lock on his door clicked open. Harry stared at it for a moment, and then quietly moved so that he was out of view of the door when it opened, turning off the lights on his way. It seemed that they had been expecting him to come out and investigate on his own, for it took a while before someone appeared in the doorway. Harry ascertained that none of the others had accompanied the man before he sprang forward.

"State your name and business," Harry growled.

The man raised his hands up. "Remus John Lupin," he stated clearly. "It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."

"How do I know you're really him?"

Someone else further down the hall let out a hoarse laugh. "Boy's after my own heart."

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" said a woman. "Lumos."

Harry instinctively crouched to dodge any spells as a wand-tip lit up the hall. A few feet behind the man was a large group of people gazing curiously at Harry.

The man seemed almost saddened by Harry's reaction. "It's okay, Harry," he repeated.

Harry's heart pounded. _What am I supposed to do? Am I close to him? Do we hug or shake hands? No one ever talked about this!_

The witch who had illuminated the hallway spoke up, drawing his attention to her. "Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would. Wotcher, Harry!"

He twitched at the style of greeting, and Lupin's frown deepened.

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," a black man added. "He looks exactly like James."

"Except the eyes," another man said. "Lily's eyes."

A rather disfigured man with a whizzing eyeball was watching Harry closely. "Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"

"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Lupin asked.

"No offense, professor, but that's a stupid question," said Harry. "If people have been watching me, they might've seen it the other day."

Lupin smiled. "That's him, Mad-Eye."

 _Okay, apparently that was in character. Keep it up, Potter._

Slowly Harry straightened and lowered his wand. The scarred man, Mad-Eye, followed the movement as Harry tucked his wand into the holster.

Lupin held out his hand.

 _Ah, so we shake hands. Good to know._

"How are you?" Lupin asked.

"Fairly good, all considering," Harry replied.

Lupin smiled weakly. "Sometimes that's the best we can hope for, eh?" He glanced back at the others and began introducing them. "This is Alastor Moody, Harry."

"It's nice to meet you," Harry said politely to the disfigured man, who grunted in response.

"The real me, you mean."

"Er, yeah," Harry said.

"And this is Nymphadora – " Lupin continued.

"It's Tonks!" the young witch said immediately.

Harry felt his lips twitch.

"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," Lupin finished with his own smile.

He then introduced the black man as Kingsley Shacklebolt, the only one whom Harry recalled himself. Another man named Dedalus Diggle insisted that they had met before, and was almost overcome with excitement. Harry, who had very little experience with fans, just wished they would all stop looking at him.

"We're wasting time," said Moody. "Potter, is your trunk packed? Got your broom?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "Are we flying?"

"It's the only way since you're so young," Lupin explained. "You can't Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."

Harry knew for a fact that Dumbledore could create a Portkey, but he supposed it was too much to ask of the old man.

"But Voldemort and his Death Eaters can fly, too," he pointed out instead.

Several of the people in the group let out exclamations at the name, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Which is why we have the guard," Moody said shortly.

Lupin checked his watch. "Well then, it seems we have another fifteen minutes. Harry, do you think your relatives would mind if we used their kitchen?"

"Not at all."

 **~FoD~**

As he followed Tonks into a dive, it took everything in Harry not to fly past her. By the time they reached the ground, he was quite glad of it because it was hard for him to go so slow, even if he knew it was part of the defensive maneuvers.

"Merlin," Lupin murmured. "You've gotten even better than the last time I saw you flying."

Harry felt his cheeks stain pink, though with the Disillusionment Charm on him it could not be seen.

"Thanks," he muttered.

He looked around the disreputable square in which they stood. His teeth chattering, Harry watched as Moody removed each of the lights with a small device. Moody then grabbed Harry and dragged him across the square with the guard following them.

"Read this and memorize it," Moody growled, thrusting a small piece of paper into Harry's hand.

Harry barely glanced at it. As he thought the words, _Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London_ , a large townhouse appeared before him.

"I see it," he said quietly.

Moody snatched the paper and lit it on fire, destroying the evidence. At Moody's sharp gesture, Harry climbed up the steps to the front door, which Lupin tapped once with his wand. The door opened slowly.

"Get inside, quick, but don't go far and don't touch anything," Lupin whispered to him.

Harry crept forward into the dark hall, and the others followed behind him with Moody closing the door. The Disillusionment Charm was removed from Harry, and everyone else became visible as well. When Moody lit the lamps, Harry wrinkled his nose at the general air and look of neglect in the house.

Footsteps came from the other end of the hall, and a plump woman with graying red hair appeared. She beamed at Harry and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" Mrs. Weasley whispered. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid..."

Harry tuned her out, more interested in the man who was lingering in the shadows.

 _Merlin, he looks like crap. How could Dumbledore do this to him?_

"Hello, Sirius," Harry said a bit shakily.

Sirius grinned and stepped forward to give him a quick hug.

"You weren't supposed to notice me. I'll see you after the meeting, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Harry murmured, letting Mrs. Weasley usher him toward the stairs.

He tried to ignore the decorations on the walls as he followed her, although he was curious about the large portrait with curtains over it.

"I've got to go," Mrs. Wealsey whispered to him. "Your room is the first door on the left. You're sharing with Ron. I'll call you when the meeting is over."

Harry nodded and she dashed off downstairs again.

For a long moment he stared at the light coming from underneath the door. Then he steeled himself, gripped the doorknob, which was shaped like a serpent's head, and opened the door.

"Harry!" a voice shouted right before his vision was covered by bushy hair and arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. "Ron, Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless – but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us – "

"Hermione," Harry cut her off, so abruptly that she subsided at once.

A lanky boy with bright red hair gave him a tentative smile which Harry didn't return.

Hermione pulled back, biting her lip. "You're mad, aren't you?"

"No."

There was a soft whooshing sound and something white soared from the top of a dark wardrobe and landed gently on Harry's shoulder. He looked at the owl in surprise.

Then she nipped his ear hard.

"Bloody bird," he muttered as she flew back up to the wardrobe.

"She got here earlier and has been pecking at us since then," said Ron, who looked just as nervous as Hermione. "We really did want to tell you, mate, but –"

"I get it," Harry said. "You can't disobey Dumbledore."

He thought he heard a snicker from the empty portrait on the wall, and made a note to remove it at once.

"Look, I really don't want to talk right now. Can I please just take a nap?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. They seemed disconcerted by his tone.

"Yeah, mate," Ron said, moving toward the door. "'Course you can."

Later, when they came to check on him, Harry pretended to be asleep. A little while after that he heard hushed voices and a plate being set down on the desk. Then a gentle hand ruffled his hair, and he turned instinctively into the touch with a quiet murmur of, "Uncle Sirius…"

The man let out a soft sound. Realizing what he'd said, Harry stayed still, hoping they would think he was only sleep-talking. After a long moment, the two men quietly left the room, and Harry let himself relax again.

* * *

 **AN1:** FOD stands for foreign object damage... which is what I'm doing to the original story. I love an accidental irony. :)

(Yes, I know it can stand for other things, too.)

 **AN2:** I update at random times because that's how my schedule works.

 **AN3:** Things to expect in this story:

Major bashing of Snape. Minor bashing of Dumbledore and Ginny. OOC-ness because, obviously, I'm not JKR.

 **AN4:** At the bottom of some chapters will be story ideas/prompts that are up for adoption (chapter 2 provides an example of this).


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Harry woke early the next morning. Ron was still snoring loudly in the bed on the other side of the room. With a sigh, Harry grabbed a clean change of clothes from his trunk and shuffled to the bathroom, only wondering briefly as to why Ron had locked their bedroom door.

Before he got into the shower, he paused and examined at his reflection. Although it was the same thin face and green eyes staring back at him that he had always seen, Harry didn't feel like he was looking at himself but only a silhouette of another person.

 _I am Harry Potter,_ he reminded himself. _I am Harry James Potter. This will work._

The words sounded hollow even in his own head, but he didn't let any of his self-doubt show on his face.

When he followed the smell of sausage and eggs downstairs, it was to see Sirius standing at the stove, a frown of concentration on his wasted face.

"You can cook?" Harry said, surprised.

Sirius snorted. "Nothing more than eggs and macaroni and cheese." Then he sobered. "Your mother died before she could teach me anything else."

Harry bit his lip. "I can help," he offered after a moment.

Sirius grinned at him. "I'd appreciate that, Harry."

When the others arrived in the kitchen, it was to see a full meal spread out on the table. All of them eagerly plonked down and began filling their plates. The last person to arrive, Lupin, gaped at the mounds of food.

"You made this?" he asked Sirius incredulously.

"I wish," Sirius said, "but alas, I shall not have the opportunity to see all of you die from food poisoning. Harry did most of it."

"'S good," Ron said through a mouthful.

Even Mrs. Weasley looked impressed. "I've never thought of adding cinnamon to pancakes," she said. "Where did you get the recipe, Harry?"

"My d-amn uncle," he replied, hastily correcting himself before anyone could tell what he almost let slip.

Fred crooked an eyebrow. "Really? The oaf can cook?"

"Never underestimate a walrus, Fred," Harry said solemnly, and George began hacking so hard that Lupin hastily drew his wand and cleared George's air passage for him.

After breakfast, Mrs. Weasley ordered everyone to the drawing room where she handed out spray bottles and cloths with which to cover their faces. Despite the curtains moving as if they were alive, Harry's gaze kept on being drawn to the extensive tapestries depicting the Black family on the walls. It was only when Hermione's voice rose that he focused on the conversation again.

"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage –"

"Age has nothing to do with it," said Harry. "House-elves are supposed to take care of their house, which Kreacher is failing to do even though he has his own magic. He's only doing the bare minimum so the contract doesn't kill him."

She blustered. "Are you – You _agree_ with enslaving house-elves?"

"Of course not," he returned shortly. "It isn't enslavement, though. Kreacher willingly entered into a contract just like any other employee, only this one is magically binding."

"Harry's right," Sirius intervened before Hermione could respond. Harry turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway holding a bloodstained bag and watching Harry curiously. "House-elves are addicted to a wizard's aura. It might be manipulative, but the contract just gives them what they want."

"It's not right," Hermione said firmly.

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe, but the world's not fair, now is it?"

His piercing gaze made her look away.

"What's in the bag?" Harry asked with a horrified fascinatiion as blood dripped onto the floor. He thought he saw dead rats inside, but he wasn't sure.

"I've just been feeding Buckbeak," Sirius explained. "I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom. Anyway ... this writing desk..."

Since no one else was questioning Sirius, Harry decided not to ask what this Buckbeak creature was doing in the house.

"I'm pretty sure this is a boggart," Sirius announced, bent in front of the locked cabinet. "Best let Mad-Eye have a look at it before we let it out, though. Knowing my mother, it could be something much worse."

"Like what?" Fred asked curiously, stepping forward to crouch next to Sirius. He raised one hand and poked his finger through the keyhole.

Harry leaped forward. "Fred, don't –"

Sirius pushed Fred out of the way as the desk shot open, but that only put Harry directly into the path of the boggart. Mist streamed out and began to take on the familiar shape of a man with untidy black hair and spectacles.

"You're useless," the boggart-James Potter sneered. "We'll all die because of you!"

Harry's throat closed up. Unconsciously, he shuffled back a step or two. "D-dad…" he stuttered out.

"Harry!" Hermione cried. He felt her hand wrap around his wrist, tugging him back as Ron moved in front of him, face pale but determined.

There was a sharp crack, and then James Potter no longer stood there. In his place, a spider the size of an elephant appeared in front of Ron, clicking its pincers threateningly. It was covered with hair, and stared at Ron with several beady eyes.

" _R-riddikulus_!" Ron shouted.

Harry didn't find a legless spider funny, but apparently Ron did, for he let out a loud laugh and the boggart vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Oh _no_ ," Mrs. Weasley moaned. "Underage magic…"

"It's alright, Molly," said Sirius, staring at the spot where the boggart of James had stood. "My father warded this place to the teeth. They can't detect anything here."

He hesitated and then turned to Harry, his mouth opening in a question that was cut off by a doorbell. Instantly, there was a cacophony of screams and wails. Harry's eyes widened when he identified the words being shouted. He'd never heard such insults aloud.

 _"Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth...!"_

"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" said Sirius irritably as he rushed out of the room.

"Harry –"

Mrs. Weasley's shout went ignored as Harry followed Sirius down the stairs. Shrieks continued to echo through the house. Others had joined it now, and Harry passed several portraits that were shouting at each other or begging for the one voice to be silenced.

"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" Sirius roared.

Harry stumbled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. Sirius and Kingsley were struggling to cover a large, life-sized portrait with curtains. The woman inside it was raging and howling, and her face twisted with hatred when she saw Harry gaping at her.

"YOU!" she bellowed. "Blood traitor! Abomination! You stole my son from me!"

Instantly Harry realized she thought he was James Potter. He shook his head, his ears ringing from the clamor.

"I'm not…"

"Get the other portraits!" Sirius said tersely to Kinglsey, who let go of his curtain and hurried up and down the hall, stunning all the other portraits with his wand. "Harry, can you help me?"

Now that it was getting quieter, Harry was able to think more clearly and he sprang forward. The woman clawed at the surface of the painting like she wanted to reach out and choke him. Harry cursed under his breath and tugged harder on the drapes.

Suddenly Sirius ceased in his efforts, turning to look at Harry with wide eyes. "Did you – Was that _Parseltongue_?"

At his words, the portrait stopped shrieking.

"You," the woman breathed. "You're one of _them_."

"That's right, you old hag," Harry growled.

With both Sirius and the woman now quiet, Harry was able to yank the curtains closed. The hall was filled with a strangely echoing silence. He turned around to see Kingsley also staring at him. When he was caught, Kingsley murmured an excuse to leave and pushed past Harry to the basement so that Harry was alone with Sirius.

"What?" Harry said defensively. "Yes, I'm a Parselmouth. Gonna throw me in Azkaban now?"

Sirius was finally jolted out of his stupor. "No, of course not," he said, shaking his head. "Parseltongue pops up in a pureblood family every now and then. One of my greater-uncles, Sirius the First, was a Parselmouth too."

Harry frowned. He'd never heard that before, but he knew the Black family was extremely secretive. There was a great deal that even a close friend would never be told.

Noting his expression, Sirius explained further. "He died as a child. Some Muggles heard him speaking with snakes, and well…" Sirius glanced at the portrait helplessly. "I suppose there's _some_ reasoning to my mother's nasty prejudice."

"That's your _mother_?"

Sirius grimaced. "Unfortunately. We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas."

He threw a dirty look at the portrait, from which a huff could be heard.

"Blimey," said Harry. "And I thought Petunia was bad."

Sirius let out a heavy sigh. "You have no idea." He studied Harry again. "Listen, about that boggart…"

"I'm okay," Harry said quickly. "I know it wasn't really my dad. He wouldn't say something like that."

"No, he wouldn't," Sirius agreed, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders and guiding him back toward the stairs. "Your parents loved you very much, Harry, and I hope you know that."

Harry wet his lips and hoped Sirius didn't notice his tenseness. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly.

 _That's why I'm doing this… for the family._

Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"Good. Best get on back to work. Molly needs all the help she can get since that rotten house-elf refuses to do it."

Harry tilted his head back to look up at him. "Can I use magic?"

Sirius smirked. "Caught that, did you? You can, but don't let any of the Weasleys see it. Though I think Fred and George already figured it out."

After a moment of thinking, Harry agreed that Sirius had a point. Ginny would keep it a secret, but Ron would be the one to get caught, or Hermione might rat them out to Mrs. Weasley, who would certainly disapprove of it. As for Fred and George, Harry suspected the twins of doing quite a few experiments in their room without their mother's knowledge.

This was only proven when he entered the drawing room again. Mrs. Weasley looked over at him with a tight expression that he ignored. He was more interested in watching Fred pick up a doxy that had fallen while Mrs. Weasley's back was turned. Catching Harry's eye, Fred shot him a wink as he slipped the doxy into his pocket.

Harry grabbed the spray bottle and replaced his face cloth again. Then he joined the others at the curtains, hovering closer to the twins.

"What're you doing?" he murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

"Just an experiment with doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes," George whispered, keeping an eye on his mother.

Harry made a face. _I'm not eating anything made by a Weasley ever again,_ he vowed.

"For the joke shop, then," he muttered.

Fred lowered his voice as Mrs. Weasley paused to wipe sweat off her forehead. "Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet, so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week."

"All thanks to you, mate," George beamed.

"No problem," Harry said, forcing a smile. "I know it'll be an investment well made."

 **~FoD~**

Right before lunch, Mundungus came by the house with the cauldrons he had stolen while he was supposed to be watching Harry, and while Mrs. Weasley was screaming at the conman, a house-elf entered the drawing room. The wizened old elf was muttering to himself about each of the house's guests. By the Weasley family's reactions, Harry knew that this was common for the elf, although that didn't mean they appreciated the insults to them.

"...and there's the Mudblood, standing there bold as brass, oh if my mistress knew, oh, how she'd cry, and there's a new boy, Kreacher doesn't know his name. What is he doing here? Kreacher doesn't know..."

Before anyone could make a comment on the racial slur, Harry knelt so that he was at about the same height as the elf.

"I'm Harry Potter," he said. "It's nice to meet you, Kreacher."

Kreacher's pale eyes widened when he saw Harry's hand outstretched for a shake. His gaze darted to Harry's face. "The brat puts himself at the same level as Kreacher…" he muttered. "Kreacher has not seen this since…"

Harry leaned forward and whispered so that nobody else could hear, "Regulus?"

When Kreacher's huge eyes widened even more, Harry smiled and winked. He let the elf guess at the truth that was left unspoken.

"Kreacher is going to clean the dining room," the elf announced, turning to leave the room.

On his way out, he nearly ran into Sirius, who glowered at the elf. Kreacher paused and sketched a bow to Sirius before continuing on his way. Sirius looked puzzled by the elf's actions.

"What did he want?" Sirius asked them.

"Just to insult us, apparently," George said with disgust.

Hermione glared at him. "He's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's –"

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying," sneered Fred.

She turned to Sirius pleadingly. "If you could just set him free, maybe –"

Immediately he shook his head. "We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order. And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it."

Mrs. Weasley returned with sandwiches. She still looked extremely angry about Mundungus. The others hurried over to her, but Harry wandered over to the tapestry. Sirius joined him in front of it, scowling.

"Why are you so fascinated by this tapestry, anyway?"

Harry turned to look at him. "It's your family history," he said.

Then, while everyone else was distracted by the food, Harry discreetly took out his wand and pointed it at the tapestry. Gold threads stitched back together the small, round, charred hole right next to Regulus Black's name. Sirius' eyes widened as his own name reappeared.

"Not every Black was a pureblood maniac," Harry said quietly. "There are those of which you can be proud."

He refused to let his eyes drift toward any of the names of which he was thinking, including those that were missing from the tapestry.

Sirius snorted. "Every good one was blasted off the tree."

Harry shook his head. "Not all of them." Then, to offset the melancholy and to avoid questions, he shot a crooked smile at Sirius. "And where do you get off thinking you're so good?"

Sirius stared at him in surprise before barking out a laugh.

"Sometimes you really remind me of your father," he said fondly, pulling Harry into a side-hug. Harry was tense at first but began to relax after a moment. "I'm glad I have you here, Harry."

"Blood and bone bind you," Harry murmured, "but neither is as strong as love. That's what my gr-great family says."

"Odd, that they treat you like crap, then," said Sirius darkly. "I tried to convince Dumbledore to bring you here earlier, but he refused. Said you needed the blood protection there."

"Oh, that's just shit," Harry scoffed. "He knows exactly what goes on there. If it were just a blood ward, Voldemort would've already waltzed in. He took my blood during the ritual, remember? No, Dumbledore used his own enchantments for the protection."

Since he was leaning against Sirius, he felt Sirius become rigid. His own heartbeat begin to pound as Sirius drew in a slow, steady breath. It was like watching the approach of a hurricane.

"You are _never_ going back there," Sirius growled. "I won't allow it."

Rather than being frightened by Sirius' dangerous tone, Harry smiled.

 **~FoD~**

Over the next few days, Harry adjusted to living at Grimmauld Place. They finished cleaning out the drawing room, and Harry pretended not to notice Kreacher sneaking off with a heavy gold locket. All that remained was the Black family tree, which Harry convinced Sirius didn't need to be removed anyway.

Many Order members dropped by the house, including Snape. Along with the others, Harry watched the great bat flounce around taunting Sirius. _Oh, he's even uglier than Dad said_ , Harry thought, very happy that he did not have to meet the man yet.

On one such occasion, though, Harry had to duck into the library in order to avoid Snape. This was one of the rooms that was still relatively untouched, and Harry let his eyes scan over the spines of Dark books. He had noticed the other day, when Sirius was bitten by a snuffbox and barely even reacted, that Sirius knew quite a bit of Dark magic. Except for the more evil books, these probably wouldn't be thrown out like the other objects.

"Do you think Harry's been acting odd?"

Harry jumped at Sirius' voice. Creeping forward, he peered around a shelf to see Sirius and Lupin sitting at a table. There was a bottle of Firewhiskey on the table between them. As Harry watched, Lupin grabbed it and added some to his tea before topping off Sirius' glass.

"Maybe, but he's been through a lot," said Lupin. "He won't talk to anyone about Cedric. I think he's been closing himself off from all of it."

Harry frowned, trying to remember where he'd heard the name Cedric before. Then he recalled that was the other Hogwarts Champion who died at the graveyard. _I'll have to act sad if they ask about it._

"I know," Sirius said. "It's just – his eyes. There's something different about them. They used to be such a bright green. Now they're so dulled. I hate seeing it."

Lupin only grunted in response.

"And he's been almost clinging to me," Sirius continued. "Despite all of your best efforts, he keeps on finding me – oh, Remus. Don't give me that look. I know you're keeping him away from me, too. You're a dog-sitter and a babysitter combined for good ol' Dumbledore."

Harry's heartbeat raced and his mouth felt dry. It was difficult for him to stay still and not give away his presence. His hands curled into tight fists.

Then the doors to the library slammed open.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Mrs. Weasley screeched.

Both men jumped and stood from their seats, forcing Harry to skitter on light feet around the other corner of the bookshelf. He crouched down and eased apart two books to peer through the gap.

Mrs. Weasley stalked forward. She arrived at the table, her arms crossed and a dangerous expression upon her face. In one fist she clenched a wand which Harry recognized as not her own.

 _She's in the Red Rage,_ Harry noted with amusement.

"It would be more effective if you used my middle name," Sirius told her. "Sirius Orion Black. My father had an odd sense of humor when he named me. He used to laugh each time my mother screamed it."

 _And he's in the Black Bane… No, that doesn't sound as good. I'll have to ask Nick if I ever see him again._

Mrs. Weasley's lips curled into a snarl. "I just caught Ginny using magic." She waved the wand in Sirius' face for emphasis.

In her pocket Harry spotted four more wands poking out; she must have confiscated the others' wands, too. The twins wouldn't like that. Although they hadn't graduated yet, they were of age to use magic outside of the school.

"Okay," Sirius said slowly.

" _You're_ the one who told them that they could use magic!"

"It's not my fault that you won't allow it," he said with more than a little disdain.

"They are _children_ ," Mrs. Weasley hissed. "You need to be more responsible. The way you go on about Harry it's like you think you've got your best friend back! He's not _James_ , Sirius!"

There was no sound except for her heavy breaths. Resisting the desire to bolt out of his hiding place, Harry clutched at the shelf in front of him, his jaw sore from clenching his teeth.

"I am perfectly aware that James is dead," Sirius said in a low, dangerous voice. "But it seems you didn't learn your lesson from Fabian and Gideon. The kids need to be trained. I will not let _my_ son die because _you_ wish to keep him innocent!"

Squeezing his eyes shut momentarily, Harry thought, _The other Harry would have been so happy to hear that._

"What?" Mrs. Weasley said in a shaky voice, as if she could not believe Sirius would say such a thing to her. The color had drained from her face.

"Molly, Sirius," Lupin began cautiously, but Sirius snarled at him.

"Stay out of this, Remus. You've done _shit_ for Harry other than teaching him the Patronus."

Harry inhaled sharply, but thankfully, Lupin was so shocked that he didn't hear the sound. Sirius, however, tensed.

"Leave," Sirius snapped.

No one moved.

" _Leave,_ both of you!"

Mrs. Weasley was quick to scamper away. Lupin looked distressed, but after a sharp glare from Sirius, he snatched up his tea and followed Mrs. Weasley out of the library.

Sirius waved his wand in a complex design before speaking. "You can come out now."

Sheepishly, Harry stepped out from behind the bookshelf. Sirius wasn't looking at him. Harry, in turn, searched Sirius' face carefully.

"Who are you really?"

Harry stared at him, speechless. He had not expected anyone to notice this quickly, especially not Sirius who knew him the least well. Even Ron and Hermione were acting like he wasn't treating them any differently by distancing himself from them.

"You're not that different," Sirius said, "but there's a bunch of little things. James and Lily's son wouldn't have been able to stay there silent for so long. Not with inheriting both of their tempers. And your eyes… They're a different color, too."

Harry licked his lips. "I have my mother's eyes," he said quietly.

Sirius turned, one eyebrow crooked up at him. "Your mother?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. His gaze darted to the door, and Sirius moved just enough that Harry knew he wouldn't be able to escape.

Sighing, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a mirror. Sirius' wand was on him quicker than he expected, and Harry froze, both hands in the air where Sirius could see them.

"It's a communication mirror," Harry explained.

"I know," Sirius bit out. "Just who do you plan to contact, Death Eater?"

Harry smiled thinly. "I haven't ever met a Death Eater. But a Reaper? Now that's a _lot_ more personal."

Then, with Sirius' cold eyes watching him closely, Harry spoke indirectly to the mirror.

"James Potter."

Only a few moments later, a man's face appeared in the mirror. He had a harried appearance, his black hair poking up every which way and bags underneath his blue eyes.

"Harry?" the man said. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Harry tilted the mirror so his father could see Sirius, whose eyes widened.

"Fuck," James said, summing up the situation rather eloquently.

Harry grinned slightly. "Meet one of your namesakes, Dad."

* * *

 **AN:** To the reviewer who said it's reading like canon: Um, yeah, glad you noticed. It's called build-up. Some people jump right into the action. I don't. (Also please keep your reviews clean. I use swearing in the story because there's a warning. I don't allow it in the reviews. That's why I removed yours.)

 **AN2:** Story idea: A deconstruction of the Epilogue based on this contextual information:

1) James is either ignored or belittled, his appearance is never described, and it is entirely possible he isn't Harry's biological son (in another story of mine, _Broken Crown_ , I use Michael Corner (dark hair, half-blood, heroic, and common name - exactly Ginny's type) as the father, but you can decide on your own)

2) Harry seeks his own redemption through Albus Severus (even JKR admits this), and holy cow, are things adding up!

3) Lily just wants everyone to be happy

4) Ginny is letting Harry control/do anything he wants (wow, JKR made this far too easy)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

"What the fuck?" Sirius blurted.

"That's what I'm saying," James said, blinking dazedly. "Harry, what's going on?"

Harry deliberately kept the mirror facing away from himself. "Um, there's been a change of plans. He figured it out."

There was a long, drawn-out silence. When Harry glanced at Sirius, he found Sirius watching him with narrowed eyes, avoiding looking at the mirror as well. Harry turned away. His mind raced, trying to figure out if there had been any other way out of this, but found none. He couldn't make complicated plans when he was backed into a corner like this.

Finally James spoke. "Harry, give the mirror to Sirius."

A prickle of unease swept through Harry as he obeyed, especially after James requested for Sirius to put up a privacy bubble. Harry waited anxiously, his hands shoved in his pockets. At one point, Sirius' eyes cut toward him, and the expression in them made Harry's breath catch. His stomach was tense with nerves for the remainder of the conversation.

 _Something's wrong._ He knew it for sure.

When Sirius handed the mirror back to him, Harry was disappointed to see that the surface was empty except for his own image.

"Strange man, your father," Sirius remarked.

Harry grunted as he tucked the mirror back into his pocket. "Lots of people say that." Then, slowly, almost unwillingly, he looked up at Sirius. "What did he tell you?"

Sirius studied him, a look of intense focus as if he was searching for something. Instinctively, Harry lifted his chin in an attempt to look confident, a maneuver that he had learned from his father. It always seemed to work when James was trying to appear trustful.

"More people will be coming," Sirius answered at last.

"Who?"

"He said everyone in your family."

Harry stared at him incredulously. "That's a lot of people. The Weasley family is kind of proliferate."

" _Weasley_? Wait, no." Sirius shook his head. "Why am I even surprised? Does your mum have red hair, too?"

"No, it's brown."

Sirius looked oddly relieved until Harry continued.

"But history does have an odd way of repeating itself. I mean, Mum has green eyes, and Aunt Violet is a Muggleborn, and Uncle Regulus is a pureblood with glasses, and, well, I guess Uncle Teddy took after his biological father, because Aunt Victoire has Veela blood."

"Wait, hold on – _Regulus_?" Sirius spoke so quickly that the words almost streamed together.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed and then released. "That's right, you don't know about Phineas Black. He's a descendant of Phineas Nigellus."

"Phineas Nigellus…?" Sirius' gaze went distant. "He had a disowned son, didn't he, one that was named after him?"

"Yeah," Harry responded with a nod. "They went to Denmark. Then Mr. Black had three kids: Sirius, Regulus, and Astrid."

Then he shook himself. He'd let Sirius distract him from the more important matter. _Some Slytherin you are, Potter._

There was a fluttery, empty feeling in his stomach when Harry posed his own question.

"Why are they coming here, though?"

Drawn out of his own ruminations, Sirius gave Harry a pitying look, and the world fell through Harry's feet. It took another moment before Sirius spoke. He seemed to be fumbling for words.

"The war got even worse in your time," he said in a quiet voice. "Your dad, James, said that one of your cousins was killed right after you left. Melanie, I think was her name."

Harry's head spun. It had only been less than two weeks since he arrived in this time _._ A sour taste filled his mouth, and he felt tears building behind his eyes. "Melody," he corrected numbly, remembering a girl with a ready smile. Everyone who knew Tonks claimed that Melody was a lot like her with her bubbly personality.

Sirius reached out to touch him, but Harry stepped away, and Sirius' hand fell back to his side.

"Well." Harry cleared his throat. "I guess you want to see your own Harry, right?"

Sirius sucked in a quick breath. "He's here?"

Harry smiled stiffly. "Yeah, in my trunk."

Before the words were fully out of his mouth, Sirius was already heading for the doors. Time felt like it had slowed down as Harry followed him up the stairs. There was a hollowness inside Harry's chest; he did not even remember entering the bedroom he shared with Ron. It was only when Sirius grabbed him roughly by the arm that he blinked back into awareness, and found himself standing in front of the trunk.

"Open it," Sirius snapped, sounding like he was repeating himself.

Harry knelt in front of the trunk and hissed a single word. The lock snapped open, and Harry pushed the lid up. There was a secret compartment much like a small apartment inside the trunk. Sirius made an odd noise in the back of his throat when he saw the boy, almost identical to Harry, lying asleep on a bed.

Sirius clambered down the steps into the trunk and easily picked the boy up. He seemed both surprised and bothered that it was so easy for him to carry the boy out again, and gently settled the boy on Harry's bed.

"He's only in a stasis," Harry said quietly, taking out his wand to remove the spell. "He should be awake in only a few minutes."

Sirius took his godson's hand, caressing the back of it. His other hand rose to brush the hair out of the other Harry's face, revealing the famous scar. Seeing it made Harry remember the duplicate sticker on his own forehead, and he murmured the spell to remove the adhesive.

"There you are," said Lupin, appearing suddenly in the doorway. "Sirius, we need to – What the hell?"

 **~FoD~**

Muffled voices slipped through Harry's consciousness, pulling him from sleep. Someone's hand was running through his hair in an absent motion. He felt a warm, familiar presence next to him on the bed. Waking up was like rising from deep waters. It took him a few moments to distinguish the voices.

"This is getting incredibly confusing," said Lupin. "What's your middle name?"

An unfamiliar voice answered. "James."

Sirius groaned. "Merlin, can't there be any original names? Let's just call him Hal."

"Why can't _he_ be Hal?"

"Because he was here first," came the immediate response from Sirius. "Would you prefer Hank?"

There was silence.

"Henry?" suggested Lupin.

"My cousin's name is Henri," the boy replied, and Sirius made a sound of exasperation.

"Fine. Ry. Will you take that?"

The boy sighed. "If I must," he grumbled.

Letting out a soft groan, Harry forced his eyes open. They felt extremely crusted like he'd been sleeping for a long time. Everything was a blur around him.

"Here," Sirius said, slipping a pair of glasses onto Harry's nose.

As Harry's eyes adjusted to the focus, he sat up and took in his surroundings. Sirius was the one sitting next to him, and Lupin was nearby in the desk chair. It was the boy sitting sullenly on the other bed that made Harry reach for his wand only to realize it wasn't in its customary place by his bed.

"You!" he cried regardless. "You attacked me!"

"And you put up a poor fight," said the boy. "I was kind of disappointed, honestly."

Harry scowled. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The boy smirked. "Harry Potter the Second. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but, well, the circumstances aren't the best."

Harry laughed, but stopped when he realized he was the only one. Sirius was staring at the floor, and Lupin shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"You're joking," Harry stated.

"If only. I was born November fifth, two-thousand-twenty-nine, to James and Ivy Potter. And, since we lack originality as Sirius pointed out earlier, I was named after my grandfather."

Harry's mouth twisted. "You mean I'm dead in your time."

Sirius flinched, his head snapping up to look at Ry. Lupin made a choking noise in his throat. Ry averted his gaze, his arms tightening ever so slightly around his knees, and somehow that was the confirmation Harry needed to know that all of this was true. His own grandson was sitting in the bed across from him, back leaning against the wall and legs drawn up to his chest. It was a testament to everything Harry had gone through that he was able to accept such a ridiculous idea so readily, although it might also have to do with Sirius and Lupin believing Ry, too.

"You died before I was born," Ry admitted.

After a moment, Harry nodded. He had not expected to survive long enough to even have children, but Ry's presence was proof that he at least succeeded in that.

"If it means anything, you have three – technically four – children," Ry added, somehow guessing Harry's thoughts.

Harry's brows rose. He was unwilling to admit that it actually was strangely comforting, and so instead he asked, "Technically?"

"One of them is adopted."

While Harry absorbed this, Ry turned his attention to Sirius, who had barely moved since finding out Harry would die prematurely by wizarding terms. "When is my family arriving?"

With stiff movements, Sirius raised his wrist to look at his watch.

"Your dad said sometime this afternoon…"

As the words left his mouth, there was a flash of light. Harry automatically flinched back and covered his eyes. When he blinked the glare away, he saw a large group of people sprawled on the floor. All of them were drenched in water and shaking like Ry had been the night he attacked Harry.

"Harry!"

A girl leaped up, staggered slightly, and then threw herself at Ry, whose head cracked painfully against the wall behind him as she collided with him. Barely had he cried out before two smaller forms tackled him as well.

"Ouch! Watch it, guys!"

The girl scrabbled off of him and reached around to feel the back of his head. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to – Are you hurt?" At his sharp hiss, her eyes widened. "Henri!"

A young man pushed himself up. Harry's eyes widened and he glanced at Sirius, whose own mouth had dropped open. Only Remus seemed to not have noticed the resemblance between himself and the man, although that might have been because of the man's purple hair.

"Here, let me see," Henri murmured, and Ry winced at his touch. "Oh yeah. You got a nasty bruise here, Twister."

"Just make it go away," Ry grumbled.

Harry scanned the group. It was easily noticeable that quite a few were related to him. The two identical boys who had settled on either side of Ry had bright green eyes, as did another boy a little older than the twins. Like them, another two boys had the trademark messy hair.

"Blacks, Potters, Lupins, Weasleys, I understand," Sirius said. "But why are there Malfoys with you?"

Lupin started at the sound of his own name.

"Because we're half Weasley," said a boy with pale blond hair, gray eyes behind glasses, and a freckled complexion. He stood, wrung the water out of his sleeves and onto the floor, and then held out a hand to Sirius, who shook it quickly after a brief hesitation. "I'm Cygnus Malfoy. Over there's my sister, Juliet," he pointed to a girl with red hair and blue eyes, "and that's my brother Orion, who is definitely not snooping in someone else's trunk."

Another freckled boy glanced up from Ron's trunk and flicked his dark blond bangs out of his brown eyes. "It has Grandpa's name on it," he said defensively.

Harry choked on air. Unable to comprehend anything else, only three words were streaming through his mind: _Ron_ , _Grandpa_ and _Malfoy_.

"Oh Merlin," Sirius breathed. "This is our future."

It was at that moment that Lupin blurted out, as if only now noticing it: "But why do you look like me?"

He was looking at Henri, who was finger combing Ry's hair to see if he was in any more pain.

"I should think that's obvious, _Grandpa_ ," said Henri. "And yes, these are my base features. Except my hair, of course."

"Personally I'm feeling a little left out," said another boy with blue hair the same color as his eyes. He had a sagging posture as he rested against the bed, and he spoke tonelessly, not looking at anyone.

At his voice, Ry looked up. "Is… Is it true?"

Henri's hand went limp, and that seemed to be answer enough. When Ry's expression crumpled, it was into an expression that Harry knew well: grief.

Another girl with brown hair and hazel eyes spoke up.

"We'll be safe here. Uncle James said so."

No one responded. She didn't sound at all certain herself.

 **~FoD~**

Ry felt like he'd been blindsided. In coming to the past, he was supposed to be stopping the destruction of the future. The Reapers were intent annihilating the Potter family, but it was not until two years ago, when war truly broke out after the death of Lily Black, that further investigation proved it was the terrorist group who killed Ry's grandfather. Until then, everyone thought it was a natural death instead of poisoning.

He looked at the family who was now with him. _I have to save them._

Andre was motionless on the floor. His blue hair was fading to a mousy brown, and his eyes were wet and dull. Henri didn't appear as affected as his younger brother, but Ry knew it was only because he was concealing his grief for the sake of the younger children.

 _I have to save them. No more people can die._

A small intake of breath drew his gaze to his younger cousin. Camellia's dark blue eyes were wide and staring at the doorway in which Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stood gaping at them. On either side of Ry, Logan and Josh huddled closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around them both. Elizabeth gripped his hand tightly, Logan between them.

Ry swallowed thickly. Before he was able to ignore the switchblade to his heart each time he saw his grandmother, mostly by avoiding her entirely, but now that his family was with him, Ginny's presence brought even more pain.

 _I have to save them._

"Er," Harry said, breaking the silence. "Hello."

"Hello?" echoed Ron. "Who – What – I don't…"

Hermione stepped further into the room, her eyes, the exact shade as Orion's own, skittering over each of them. "H-Harry? What's going on?"

"Hi, Grandma," said Juliet nervously.

Hermione froze in place.

"MUM!" Ginny shouted. "MUM, COME QUICK!"

Sirius rose slowly from the bed, his hands held up. "Ginny, it's okay…" he began, but footsteps were already storming up the stairs.

Fred and George arrived at the room first; they must have obtained their wands from Mrs. Weasley again, for they were pointing them at Ry's family now. As Mrs. Weasley reached them, breathless, Keyla and Cygnus both sprang up with their own wands extended. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened and she quickly distributed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's wands. Ginny snatched her own, but Ron moved robotically and Hermione seemed numb.

"Who are you?" Fred roared.

"Fred, don't," Lupin cried, but it was too late.

A red flash of light was heading toward Addie; with exceedingly quick reflexes, Caelum pulled his sister behind him and turned his back on the light, sheltering Addie with his body. The Stunner collided with a shield that Keyla hastily put up in front of her cousins. Cygnus erected another shield before the string of hexes sent by Ginny while Alphard ushered Daniel, Nick, and Camellia under Ry's bed and Henri provided more protection.

None of the Weasley family seemed to realize that there was no return fire.

"Stop, STOP!" Lupin shouted, his own wand out now.

"Sirius, do something!" yelled Harry, who Andre had pulled down onto the floor with him, Juliet, Orion, John, and Annie.

Then everyone and everything froze. Ry could do nothing more than move his eyes and breathe.

Standing atop Harry's bed, Sirius breathed heavily, but his poise was regal with his wand pointed above his head and a stony expression. Ry couldn't help but be in awe of him. Sirius inhaled through his nose and then exhaled through his mouth. Then he slashed his wand in a summoning motion, and every wand in the room sailed toward him. Sirius collected all of them before hopping off the bed.

"I _really_ hate being the reasonable person," he snapped, "so can we all be calm here?"

No one was able to answer, but he must have noticed Ginny and Mrs. Weasley's looks of fury, somehow communicable with just their eyes, for he kept the paralysis spell on both them and the Weasley twins while he removed it from everyone else.

"I'm a grandma," Hermione said dazedly, her gaze clouded. "I'm fifteen and I'm a grandma."

 _Someone has gone into shock,_ Ry noted.

Ron scratched at his cheek. "Right. What the bloody hell is going on here?"

Everyone looked at Ry expectantly, so he turned to Henri, who raised his palms and shrugged. Ry narrowed his eyes spitefully at his older cousin.

"We come in peace," said Nick in a high voice, his eyes wide with fear.

 _Good a start as any._

 **~FoD~**

"Nick's right," Ry said. "We're not here to hurt any of you. My dad sent us here for protection."

Harry looked up at Sirius, whose expression had turned grim, and a knot formed in his belly.

"We're from fifty years in the future, where a war worse than this one has broken out. Most of us are somehow related to you."

Ron and Hermione remained silent, but Harry suspected Hermione was listening intently so as to catch Ry in a lie. Fred, George, and Ginny seemed to be trying to set him on fire with their eyes. However, Mrs. Weasley's eyes softened as she looked over the group.

"Who are your grandparents?" asked Lupin, eyeing both Henri and another boy who, Harry only just noticed, now had brown hair when before it was blue.

Then Harry's head spun toward the other children as he realized that there were quite a few more Potters than he thought initially. Although he couldn't see any striking resemblance to himself in the girls, three of them were hovering near boys who looked a great deal like him. He suddenly felt apprehensive. _Ry said I had four kids… but who's their mother?_

"You can start with me," he suggested, simultaneously eager and scared.

Ry nodded. "Well, there's nine of us from Harry and Ginny Potter."

Harry felt heat rise in his face, but since he refused to look at Ginny, he was able to notice the way Ry grimaced at her name. Some of the other children also shifted minutely, and Harry didn't think it was because they were embarrassed.

"I'm Harry Potter the Second," Ry continued. "This is my sister, Elizabeth." A bespectacled girl with brown hair and blue eyes lifted her hand in the semblance of a wave. "And the twins are Logan and Josh." He paused. "Our parents are James Potter and Ivy Nott."

"Nott?" Ron cried before Harry even had a chance to process the name.

"Slytherin is different now," said a freckled boy with messy black hair and brown eyes, a hard edge in his voice. "I'm a Gryffindor, so I can say that."

Ron looked ready to burst out again, but Hermione gripped his arm tightly. He winced, and Harry wondered if she was using her nails.

"I'm Caelum Black," the boy continued, "son of Lily Potter and Regulus Black. My sister, Addie, is a Slytherin, so I'd tread lightly if I were you, Uncle Ron."

The girl next to him remained silent, but her gray eyes were like steel, daring anyone to speak.

Another boy with Harry's green eyes popped up. "Well, we're a much more pleasant bunch on our side," he said with a grin. "My dad was born Albus Potter, but he changed it to Alex when he came of age for reasons he _still_ won't tell me." His face scrunched up and then released again as he continued. "My mum is Violet Kettell, who's a Muggleborn. And my name is Daniel."

"I'm Nick Potter," said a boy with auburn hair and blue eyes.

"Camellia," muttered a girl, her brown hair hiding her face.

"To repeat myself," Henri said with a roll of his eyes, "I'm Henri Lupin. My grandparents were Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, and my great-grandparents are Arthur and Molly Weasley. Andre's my brother."

The boy next to Harry on the floor didn't move. His hair was now fully brown with no trace of blue in it. Watching him, Lupin's eyes narrowed, his eyebrows pulling down in concern.

Cygnus was whispering to Juliet. She shook her head and made a sharp gesture. With a sigh, he stepped forward.

"Um… First I should say my grandparents are Ron and Hermione."

Ron visibly paled, and Hermione released him as if she'd been scalded, quickly putting a foot of distance between them. Harry pressed his lips tight together to keep from smiling. Somehow he could see his two best friends getting together; at least, he thought it was much more likely than him and Ginny, who he'd never considered as more than his best friend's sister.

Cygnus lifted his chin, a gleam in his eye now, and Harry bit his lip in anticipation. "I'm Cygnus Malfoy, and that's my sister, Juliet, and my brother, Orion."

"NO!" Ron shouted as Sirius let out a booming laugh.

Hermione did a double take, and then shook her head in silent denial.

"Oh come on," said Juliet. "Red hair. Freckles. Combine us and you have a Weasley."

 _Why does that sound almost familiar?_

"We're Weasleys, too," stated another boy, whose skin was slightly tanner than the rest. "I'm John, and this is Annie."

The youngest girl peeked out from behind him, her dark auburn hair pulled back into pigtails.

"Our cousins," Cygnus added, grinning. "Their mum is Jade Zabini."

At this point, Ron was now quiet and unresponsive, his eyes vacant. Hermione let out a long, low sigh and clasped their hands together, which seemed to steady him a bit.

The last girl spoke up from beside another boy with black hair. "Well, Alphie and I aren't related to any of you," she said, and from the sparkle in her hazel eyes, she seemed quite happy about that. "Except cousin Sirius, of course. My name is Aquila Black, but I go by Keyla for obvious reasons."

Lupin muffled a snort of laughter, although Harry looked at her blankly until Daniel leaned over and murmured, "Tequila. It's what Uncle James was drinking when Aunt Amelia lost the bet on Key's name. Apparently Uncle Sirius didn't speak to her for _days_."

Harry frowned. "Sirius?" he asked, glancing at his godfather who was removing the spell from the rest of the Weasley family.

"Different one. I think they're fourth cousins or something like that."

"Fourth cousins, once removed," Nick corrected. "And only family can say Alphie. His name's Alphard."

Harry nodded absently. He could feel Ginny's gaze on him, but couldn't bring himself to look at her. His chest tightened each time he thought about it. He was only waiting for her brothers to start accusing him of feelings he didn't yet have.

Then he let out a startled yelp as hands pulled him to his feet and he was pulled into a warm hug. A familiar scent that reminded him of comfort filled his nose, steadying him before he panicked.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley breathed, her voice giddy with happiness.

* * *

 **AN:** I really hate having character introduction chapters… but alas, seeing as I'm the only one who knows them, it's kind of necessary. Also I know what you're all going to ask so here's the spoiler on their ages:

James 2/Ivy: Ry (15); Elizabeth (13); Logan and Josh (10)

Albus "Alex"/Violet: Daniel (14); Nick (12); Camellia (10)

Teddy/Victoire: Henri (20); Melody (18 – now dead); Andre (16)

Lily 2/Regulus 2: Caelum (15); Addie (12)

Sirius 2/Amelia 2: Keyla (17); Alphard (15)

Scorpius/Rose: Cygnus (17); Juliet (14); Orion (12)

Hugo/Jade: John (11); Annie (8)

 **AN2:** Next chapter will be getting back into the swing of things.

 **AN3:** Future Harry 2 is "Ry" (because he's egotistical and hates Hal/Hank) and canon Harry is "Harry".


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

With so many more unexpected people at Grimmauld Place, Ry and his family had to sleep on pallets on the floor of the drawing room. After one night, they realized this wouldn't work with eighteen people. Keyla suggested they make bunk beds out of the cabinets that had been cleared, and Sirius' eyes widened at the masterwork of Transfiguration between her and Alphard.

Mrs. Black had screamed first in surprise and then rage when she saw the four younger Blacks. Alphard, despite his more serious countenance, seemed to remind her of her brother, and he drew the most vitriol. Caelum also received quite a few insults for looking so much like a Potter.

Only two days after his family arrived, Mrs. Weasley turned to Ry. "Dumbledore said to just act like you're the real Harry Potter. He'll be there for your trial."

"He _is_ the real Harry Potter," said Daniel.

"Harry Potter 2.0," Caelum agreed with a nod.

"A cheaper model to reach more consumers," Daniel finished solemnly.

Hermione gaped at them. "How can you joke like that? Your cousin is going to be on trial!"

"Mum is a liar," Josh piped up.

"Lawyer," Elizabeth corrected him, sounding tired of the old joke.

"Yeah, that."

Ry rolled his eyes. "I'm not worried about it. I already know how things work out, remember? And I think I know enough about law to form a defense if it takes a turn for the worst."

He had already studied the case with his mother before coming here. Hermione still looked skeptical, though, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with her concern for him.

"When did Dumbledore tell you that?" Harry asked Mrs. Weasley, but it was her husband who answered.

"He came last night, when you were in bed," said Mr. Weasley. "We had to tell him about our guests."

"Just keep him away from us and we'll be fine," Andre grunted, stabbing violently at his potato.

Silence descended over the kitchen as everyone turned to look at him. Ry suspected it was for different reasons, though. His family was concerned because this was the first time Andre had spoken all day. The others, though, were staunch Dumbledore supporters, and the Weasley family would particularly take any derogatory remark about their glorified leader as a personal offense.

"How am I getting there?" Ry asked to take the attention off of Andre.

"Arthur's taking you to work with him," Mrs. Weasley replied.

He nodded. "Okay, but the trial will be moved forward, so we'll have to get there early."

Mr. Weasley looked surprised but agreed.

The next morning Ry woke and dressed in his best robes. When he got out of the bathroom, he was unsurprised to see Elizabeth waiting for him. She smiled weakly and together they padded downstairs to the kitchen, where they met Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Lupin.

"What do you want to eat, Ry?" Mrs. Weasley asked gently.

"Anything is fine, Mrs. Weasley."

"Call me Gran," she requested as she bustled over to the fire.

Ry grimaced and didn't respond. Elizabeth glanced at him uneasily.

"You look nice," Sirius commented, one eyebrow raised.

Ry looked down at himself and shrugged. "This is what my dad wears when he has to go to court. I figured it would be bad to wear jeans and a shirt."

"Probably a good idea," Lupin agreed.

Suddenly Ry heard his parents calling Elizabeth's name. Looking slightly guilty, she pulled her own mirror out of her pocket. He realized she must have expected them to be calling before he left.

"Is Harry there with you?" was the first thing Ivy demanded after Elizabeth greeted them.

Ry leaned over to see the images of his parents. "I'm here, Mum."

"Oh good," she breathed out. "When you didn't answer I thought…"

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't want to bring my mirror to the trial."

Ivy nodded, her grass-green eyes, identical in color to his own, scanning as much as she could see of him. "Look sharp. Be confident. Just let things play out as they did for your grandfather. And try not to kill Dumbledore when you see him."

Ry lifted one hand to flatten his hair even though he knew it was useless.

James smiled encouragingly. "You'll be fine, Twister. And even if they try to cart you off to Azkaban for some reason, well, you know what to do."

At the reminder, Ry flexed his hand underneath the table, suddenly more aware of the constant tingling. He tried not to think about what would happen. James must have noticed Ry's tension, for his eyes softened.

"It won't come to that, _phlehsi_."

"I know," Ry mumbled, but his stomach was still churning. He glanced up to see everyone watching him, and Mrs. Weasley was turned partially toward him, listening with one ear as she cooked breakfast. "I have to go."

"Okay, sweetheart," said Ivy, though she looked slightly disappointed. "We love you."

"Until the end," James said with a gentle smile.

"Then, now, and forever," Ry responded automatically and then tapped the mirror with his wand to end the call.

As Elizabeth took back her mirror, she handed over a wand in return.

"You'll have to use this for today. They think you're Grandpa, remember."

Ry inspected the wand. It didn't vibrate like his own did for him, but he thought he could use it. He tucked it into his robes and gave her his own wand for safekeeping.

"You're the real snake," he murmured. "Grandpa didn't give this to you willingly, did he? You stole it."

Elizabeth shrugged carelessly. "As Mum says, act first, beg forgiveness later."

Mrs. Weasley set breakfast on the table and he began eating. That was when the adults began giving him advice. When he told them that the hearing would be in the courtroom instead of Amelia Bones' office, Mr. Weasley's head jerked back and Sirius stiffened, his hands clenching into fists.

"Don't lose your temper," Sirius said grimly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

Ry kept his gaze on his plate. _Yeah, that's one thing we learned from you._

"The law's on your side," Lupin added. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

Mr. Weasley checked his watch. "We should get going," he warned. "With all of these changes I don't feel comfortable with the slightest delay."

Ry got to his feet, dodging Mrs. Weasley's approach with a wet comb. Elizabeth stood as well to give him a farewell hug. She held on for a long moment before letting him go.

Following Mr. Weasley to the front door, Ry was surprised when they began walking across the square.

"Why aren't we Apparating?" he asked.

"There's an age-restriction," Mr. Weasley explained.

Ry snorted. "I pretended to believe that the first time, but I know it's a lie. I grew up in the magical world, Mr. Weasley."

He let out a long sigh. "Alright, Dumbledore thought it would be best we arrive in a thoroughly non-magical fashion… makes a better impression, given what you're being disciplined for…"

 _Now_ that _I can believe. And it actually makes sense._

Although Ry began to hope that Dumbledore was capable of logic, he soon lost it when he realized that he knew only a little bit more about the Muggle world than Mr. Weasley. It seemed that Dumbledore didn't bother telling Mr. Weasley how to navigate it.

Despite their delay, they arrived to the courtroom on time, and Ry concealed a smug delight in Fudge's frustration. The hearing went exactly as he expected, for the most part. Madam Bones had removed her monocle at one point, her eyes searching him, and he wondered if he was acting a bit too confident and stammered his next few answers. In the end, though, he met Mr. Weasley out in the corridor with a smile.

"Cleared of all charges," Ry announced.

Mr. Weasley beamed. "Harry – er…"

"Yes, that's my name," Ry said patiently.

Mr. Weasley smiled sheepishly and was about to speak again when his mouth snapped closed. As the Wizengamot trailed out of the courtroom, Ry and Mr. Weasley moved to the side of the hallway to let them pass. Most of the wizards and witches ignored them, including Percy. Mr. Weasley's expression tightened but he said nothing to his son. Ry, however, called after him.

Percy's shoulders stiffened, but he paused and turned slightly, his gaze fixed on the wall.

"Ron says hello," Ry told him.

After a moment, Percy nodded and continued on his way.

"Did Ron really say that?" asked Mr. Weasley in a low tone once Percy was gone.

"No, but Ron's his favorite brother, isn't he? It'd mean more to him coming from Ron."

Mr. Weasley's brows furrowed as he contemplated that. "I suppose that's true," he admitted. "I never noticed it myself."

Ry shrugged. "A lot about Percy is overlooked."

As Mr. Weasley ushered Ry up the stairs, his head was lowered and his neck seemed to shrink; it was only then that Ry realized his words might be construed as hurtful, but he brushed off the guilt. After hearing stories about his father and grandfather, he knew quite a bit how an ignored child could lash out at their family.

Voices came from ahead of them, and they stopped on the landing. Fudge was talking to a man who looked overtly familiar, and it took a moment for Ry to recognize him as Lucius Malfoy.

"Well, well, well… Patronus Potter," Malfoy drawled. "Quite astonishing, the way you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes… Snakelike, in fact…"

Ry looked at him earnestly. "I can only emulate you, Mr. Malfoy."

From beside him, Mr. Weasley let out a quiet gasp. He gripped Ry's shoulder in warning.

"If you'll excuse us," said Mr. Weasley tightly, "I must get Harry home. Good day, Minister."

For a moment, Ry wondered if the pair was going to continue blocking their path, but eventually they stepped aside. Ry kept his gaze lowered as Mr. Weasley pushed him by them. Lucius Malfoy had died long before Ry was born, and he was quite glad to have never met the Death Eater until now.

 **~FoD~**

"Typical," Ron said, shaking his head. "Potters get away with everything."

There was no bitterness in his tone, but Hermione cuffed the back of his head anyway. Harry muttered something about spousal abuse that was clearly heard by everyone. Blushing, Ron and Hermione moved away from each other while Fred and George burst out laughing.

Although Ry's family had all been pretending to be unaffected, they all clustered around to congratulate him. Even Sirius squeezed his shoulder in passing, and Lupin was smiling. Their focus was so intent on Ry that he was the only one to notice Harry suddenly press a hand to his forehead. When Harry slipped out of the kitchen, Ginny was the only one to follow him.

Mrs. Weasley began serving lunch, and in the distraction caused by the appearance of food, Ry quickly climbed the stairs. Alphard was instantly behind him, a constant but quiet presence. Together they crept up to the first floor. Two voices could be heard from behind the closed door to the room Ginny and Hermione shared.

"…won't you at least consider it?" Ginny was saying almost desperately.

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, sounding truly contrite. "I just can't see myself being with you."

There was silence following his rejection. Then soft, hesitant footsteps headed to the door, and Ry and Alphard slunk into the shadowed alcove behind an old clock as Harry came out of the room. He closed the door on muffled sobs.

In the darkness, Alphard met Ry's eyes. "It's for the best," Alphard murmured.

Ry had difficulty swallowing as he nodded. Buried beneath the pain, he knew that Alphard was right.

 **~FoD~**

For the rest of his time at Grimmauld Place, Harry tried to ignore Ginny. This was rather easy to do with the pain in his scar distracting him, cleaning the house, or being mistaken for Ry. In fact, he was rather grateful to have Ry around. Ry quickly figured out that Harry was avoiding Ginny and would cover for him.

A few days before the holidays ended, Sirius called Harry into the sitting room on the ground floor. Lupin was already there waiting for him with a photo album in his lap.

"I know Hagrid gave you some pictures," said Lupin, "but these actually belonged to your parents. I… I wanted to share them with you personally." He looked down briefly. "Actually, I wanted to give them to you in your third-year, but what with Sirius, I didn't feel comfortable doing it then, and last year we never saw other, which Sirius pointed out…"

"Professor," Harry interrupted. "I understand. Really, I do."

Sirius pulled Harry down onto the sofa between him and Lupin, who opened to the first page of the album. As Lupin flipped past pages of James and Lily growing up, Harry's eyes widened. In some photos, mostly before she started Hogwarts, his mother was with a sallow-looking boy. As the pair grew older, the boy's gaze turned from hungry to possessive, while Lily's smile became more forced.

"But he hates me!" protested Harry.

"James and Snape had an extremely… antagonistic relationship," Sirius said carefully. "Snape was always jealous of James, who had money and friends. And even from the outset, Snape intended on becoming a Death Eater, while James was from a Light family. It didn't help that James was the best in our year at Potions."

"Unlike James, Snape never learned to be the better man," added Lupin. "Or a good man at all, really. Lily stopped being friends with him in our fifth year."

Harry bit his lip. He glanced down at the photos. It was obvious that Snape was lonely and desired Lily.

"Harry." Sirius leaned toward him, his gaze intense. "I'm not going to pretend that we didn't bully Sniv – Snape. But for whatever we did to him, he returned ten times fold. I remember one time when James washed Snape's mouth out – Snape was rather liberal with words like Mudblood, you see, unless it was Lily – and in return Snape used a Dark spell on James. Snape was far from good even back then."

He paused before continuing.

"Lily tried to stay friends with Snape, she really did. But, well, it's like how Peter betrayed us. You wouldn't expect us to remain friends with someone who went against everything we valued, would you?"

At last, Harry nodded.

"A coward like Wormtail," he concluded quietly.

 **~FoD~**

"School?" Ry repeated blankly.

"Yes, dear, school," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "We don't know how long you'll be staying here, but that's no reason to skip out on your education."

Ry glanced at his family, who all looked similarly appalled.

"But wouldn't we be recognized?" Addie pointed out.

"Oh, Dumbledore said he had a solution for that. Some sort of complicated combination of the Taboo and a Fidelius. I didn't understand it, myself."

That was why on the last day of summer Ry was opening a Hogwarts envelope with everyone else. Scanning the list of books, Ry didn't recognize a single one of them. He didn't know why Dumbledore decided to give all of them only a day to get their supplies. Henri offered to go to Diagon Alley along with Keyla and Cygnus, but Mrs. Weasley staunchly refused and insisted on going herself.

Then, after discovering Ron had been made Prefect, Harry sulked around for the rest of the day. It was very odd for Ry to see his own grandfather in his teenage angst. Daniel was the one who got annoyed by it, though.

"Oh come on," he said, rolling his eyes. "Most people in our family aren't Prefects. I doubt even Ry would become one, and he's the top of his class."

"Do I not count as a person anymore?" wondered Henri.

"Of course you do," Caelum told him soothingly. "But technically you're a Lupin, and besides, you throw off our statistics."

"And I said _most_ ," Daniel stressed. "Uncle James was an oddball, too."

Strangely, this actually seemed to brighten Harry, especially when he heard about Tonks, Sirius, and Lupin's days as students. Since Tonks was Henri and Andre's grandmother, she had been told of their identities, and had started visiting Grimmauld Place. Most of Ry's family avoided her, though, because of her painful resemblance to Melody.

Suddenly hearing his name, Ry looked around, only to realize Kingsley was talking about Harry instead of him.

"…why Dumbledore didn't make Potter a prefect?"

"He'll have had his reasons," answered Lupin reasonably, ever the Dumbledore supporter.

When Ry glanced over at Harry, his shoulders were drooping and he spun around to head to the food table. Ry caught Sirius' eye and jerked his head in Harry's direction. Sirius got the message and joined his godson. Mad-Eye Moody, suddenly cut off en-route to Harry, eyed Ry like it had been his intention.

The next day was extremely busy. Apparently, Fred and George had accidentally knocked Ginny down two flights of stairs with their trunks; it was the first time that Ry had seen Andre smile since their arrival. Both Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Black were screaming, but Keyla hexed Mrs. Black quiet, which brought a blissful smile to Sirius' own face even if the spell was only temporary.

"Why didn't you get Polyjuice Potion?" Ry asked Sirius, who blinked and then sighed.

"That's a good idea. Wish I thought of it before."

"Tough luck, mate," said Andre, dragging his trunk past them. "Come on, Twister! You'll make us late."

Even if it was at the expense of Ginny's pain, Ry enjoyed his cousin's good mood. "Gryffindork!"

"Snake!"

Ry hissed at him, causing several people to freeze and look at him with wide eyes. Andre, however, only flipped him off.

"Andre!" Mrs. Weasley scolded, shaking off her shock from the Parseltongue.

Sirius looked at Ry appraisingly. "Are you really a Slytherin?"

"Did that not come up?" Ry asked innocently.

"He's the _phlehsi_ ," sang Orion, and with a giggle, dodged Ry's grab for him.

"It's Dad's nickname for him," Elizabeth explained as she joined them with Logan and Josh in tow. "It just means prince, but a lot of people think it's a special designation and, well, treat him like a prince."

Ry scowled at his sister while Sirius chuckled. Then he turned to the twins, who wore identical doleful expressions.

"You'll be good for Henri and Sirius, right?"

Logan blinked up at him, bright green eyes big. "Will we get a puppy?"

"Puppy!" Annie cried, immediately drawn by the one word. She bounced over to them, pigtails swinging. Behind her John rolled his eyes, knowing what was about to happen. Ry felt quite confident in saying Annie would one day be a Slytherin. "Are we getting a puppy? Please please please?"

"Sirius will be your puppy," said Lupin, smiling. "Isn't that right, _Padfoot_?"

Despite already being pallid, somehow Sirius became even paler.

 **~FoD~**

Other than different people in different styles of dress, Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was exactly as Ry remembered it. As he took in the sight, appreciative of the familiarity, Lupin went around shaking their hands. He hesitated at Andre, who looked similarly unsure, and ended up giving his grandson the same clap on the shoulder that he gave to Harry. Tonks also hugged Andre, and Ry thought he saw Andre's hands twitch as if to rise, but in the end his arms stayed by his sides.

"Take care of him," she murmured to Ry as she passed by him, and he nodded.

After Mrs. Weasley distributed several more hugs, she ushered them onto the train. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys waved to the adults, but Keyla and Cygnus began to lead the family down the corridor as the train pulled out of the station.

"Wait up!"

Harry jogged after them with Ginny trailing him. She paused, looked at Andre speculatively, and then turned into another compartment.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Harry asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ron and Hermione are up in the Prefect compartment."

Keyla and Cygnus looked at each other, communicating with only their eyes.

"Sure," she said at last. "Younger lot, you're with me and Cygnus. The rest of you, go with Andre."

"Define young," said Elizabeth.

"You."

Elizabeth huffed but followed Keyla anyway along with Nick, Addie, Orion, and John.

Andre led Ry's group all the way to the back carriage, where they ran into a round-faced boy who looked somehow familiar. At Harry's cry of, "Neville!" the boy turned to them.

"Hi, Harry," he greeted. "Hi… everyone else."

"These are exchange students," Harry supplied.

Neville's brows squished together, and Ry almost rolled his eyes. _Yeah, that one wasn't believable, Grandpa._

Caelum squeezed past Neville and peered into the last compartment. "There's room in here," he announced with a grin, pulling the door open.

Ry followed in behind his cousin to see a blonde girl watching them with a somewhat vacant expression. He had to withhold a grin; Caelum was extremely fond of Luna.

"Can we take these seats?" Caelum asked her brightly.

She blinked. "I think there's too many of you."

"Don't worry," said Alphard, taking out his wand. "Simple expansion charm will take care of that."

"Simple, my ass," Daniel muttered under his breath, but only a few moments after that the compartment was big enough to fit all of them. He threw himself down onto a seat with a huff while Alphard wore a satisfied smile.

Juliet stretched her hand out to Luna. "Hello. I'm Juliet Malfoy."

Luna frowned. "That's…" She blinked again, looked uncertain for a moment, and then shook her head before continuing. "Luna Lovegood. Nice to meet you."

Ry watched her with interest. _Well, now we know Dumbledore's spell works._ The other introductions went similarly, without Luna or Neville reacting to their names. _Need to figure out how he did that one._

* * *

 **AN:** Here's one of my favorite quotes: "Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situations that threaten your peace of mind, self-respect, values, morals or self-worth." - _Anonymous_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Shortly after the others left, Henri decided the small ravenous beasts known as children should get their own rooms instead of staying in the drawing room. Logan and Josh would be in Ron and Harry's old room, while Camellia and Annie would be sharing Ginny and Hermione's room.

Then he began taking various items out of a mokeskin pouch.

"Grandpa was really paranoid," Henri explained to Sirius. "He taught Dad and the others to carry as much supplies on them as possible, so all of us have these."

Then he turned to the little devils.

"Who wants to redecorate?" he cried.

"Me!" they all cheered.

Sirius decided to leave them to their own devices. He didn't care what they did to the house, and with Henri distracting the children, Sirius wasn't getting pestered to turn into a dog for them anymore. Descending to the kitchen, he opened the door to the cellar and got his father's best whiskey.

Then he conjured an armchair in the drawing room and plopped himself in front of the family tapestry.

Someone had revised it again. The charred hole that represented Phineas the Second had been fixed, and from him descended a line full of single sons up until Phineas the Third, born in nineteen-seventy-nine, and his younger sister, Aquila, for whom Keyla must have been named. It made the Black family a bit more extended than Sirius had thought, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

He was torn out of his musings by the arrival of Remus.

"Have you even had lunch?" Remus inquired.

Sirius inspected his bottle. "Does whiskey count as sustenance?"

"If you have to ask that question, then no."

Remus made himself a chair and dropped into it with a heavy sigh. When Sirius offered him the bottle, he took it gratefully. They passed the whiskey back and forth for a few minutes in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts.

"It's odd," Sirius said abruptly. "I've been thinking of myself as the last Black for years. I thought my family would die out with me, and I was happy about that. But now, after meeting these kids…" He trailed off, unable to put his feelings into words. At last, he settled on, "They're still Blacks, but they're good Blacks. And until now, I didn't know that could happen."

Remus raised one eyebrow. "With how much you got around in school, there might be more Blacks running about."

Scowling, Sirius yanked the bottle out of his hands. "I only slept with Marlene, and I think I would have noticed if she were pregnant before she died."

Remus actually did a double-take, his mouth falling open. "You – You didn't lose your virginity until you were eighteen?"

"Nineteen," Sirius corrected. "We got together on James and Lily's wedding night."

"That's why the Death Eaters wiped out the family," Remus murmured to himself, but Sirius answered anyway.

"Lovely to be a Black, isn't it? She was only a first-generation half-blood. Would've soiled my pure blood."

Remus shook his head. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Sirius felt his belly knot with old regret. "It was the war, Moony," he whispered. "By that point, I only really trusted James. My fucking family took my brother. I couldn't lose any more people."

Averting his gaze, his expression pained, Remus picked at a loose thread in his clothing. Sirius broke even more watching him. The state of Remus' wardrobe wasn't so bad before James and Lily died. That his clothes were so threadbare now only served as another reminder of everything that had happened.

"Er, I've been meaning to tell you about that, actually," said another voice from the doorway.

Henri shuffled into the room, looking sheepish.

"Sorry," he said with a grimace. "Annie wanted her stuffed rabbit, and I couldn't help but…"

"Eavesdrop," Sirius finished. "Can't fault you for it. I've done it enough times myself, and so has your grandfather."

Henri's lips pulled up. "Yeah, everyone knows how much Grandpa loved to use his Invisibility Cloak to spy on people."

Remus frowned. "What did you just say?"

"Grandpa used his… Oh."

Henri looked away as Remus' body collapsed into his chair. Looking back over everything he'd heard about the future, Sirius suddenly made the connection to which Ry alluded.

"I'm dead, too," Remus said faintly. "But I have a son… I guess that's alright, then." Then he shook his head and focused on Henri. "What did you want to tell us?"

Both Henri and Sirius were gaping at him.

"I… Er, right. Regulus." Henri turned to Sirius. "You know how my uncle is named after him?"

Sirius blinked away his own confusion and remorse. "Yeah, Ry mentioned it."

Then Henri began telling him how Regulus really died, and the grief Sirius felt for his brother was renewed.

 **~FoD~**

At one point Cho Chang stopped by their compartment, but before she could even get a word out, Daniel jumped up claiming he needed to use the restroom, pushed her out of the way, and closed the door behind him. Through the glass, Ry saw her hovering for another moment before she walked away.

Blushing, Harry turned to Ry. "What was that about?"

Ry glanced at Neville and Luna. He wasn't sure to what extent Dumbledore's spell covered them, so he leaned closer to Harry and lowered his voice.

"She marries your cousin, Dudley."

The color drained from Harry's face, and Ry grinned.

"His granddaughter, Daisy, is the same age as Annie," he continued. "They're really good friends. Imagine a manipulative Slytherin and a cheerful Hufflepuff together, and that's them."

Harry held up a hand, and Ry settled back into his seat, smirking. Alphard, however, didn't let the conversation drop as Harry desired.

"What about Daisy?" Alphard asked.

"Just telling him about…" Ry gestured to the door, and Alphard got the hint.

"Oh, yeah. It's kind of weird. Reed looks vaguely Asian but with red hair."

"There's more?" Harry said, horrified.

"Just Daisy and Reed," Alphard assured him. "They're my cousins. Daisy and Reed Macmillan."

Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands. Nudging him, Ry offered him a Chocolate Frog for comfort. Harry was still nibbling on the chocolate rather listlessly, his gaze distant, when Ron and Hermione stepped into the compartment. Hermione's lips were pinched together, and Ron's movements were jerky as he stowed his owl with Hedwig.

Finding out that Malfoy was the Slytherin Prefect only made Harry more dejected.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," said Ron, "and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving." Suddenly he grinned. "I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something…"

Hermione glared at him. "You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" she said reprovingly.

He snorted. "Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all."

"If it means anything, he feels bad…" Juliet began but then paused. "Okay, no he doesn't."

"See!" said Ron triumphantly.

After another moment of glaring, Hermione turned away from him.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she told Luna.

"I know," said Luna. "You went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum last year. I thought that was very nice of you. He always looked so lonely."

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink while Ron made a slight noise in the back of his throat. Everyone exchanged a look of amusement that went unnoticed by Ron as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and adopted a sullen look.

"Thank you," Hermione said, ignoring Ron, which was difficult to do because Luna turned to him next.

"I know your sister," Luna said to him. "She was nice to me when we were kids. I haven't spoken to her since we started school, though."

Ron looked at her blankly. Then his eyes lightened with understanding.

"That's right. You live near us, don't you?"

Luna nodded, and then, as if the conversation had ended, raised her upside-down magazine again.

 **~FoD~**

Ry knew that Caelum could see the Thestrals. Both Caelum and Addie had been at their mother's bedside when she died. What he did not expect, however, was for Andre to gasp and step back. An icy horror crept through Ry, paralyzing him. He didn't know what to do for his cousin. A strange silence surrounded their group.

"You can see them, too?" Harry asked Andre, sounding oddly relieved.

Andre only nodded mutely.

"It's all right," said Luna. "You're not going mad or anything. I can see them, too." Combined with her protuberant eyes, her smile was otherworldly. "Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am."

As she disappeared into the carriage with Ron and Hermione, Daniel pulled on Andre.

"Come on. You can sit with me and Juliet."

Andre let himself be pulled into the carriage, and Ry followed him with Harry. Once the door was closed and the carriage started moving, Ron spoke up.

"Where d'you reckon Hagrid is? You don't think he's…left?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna, "he isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" Harry, Ron, and Daniel said together.

"My dad's named after him," Daniel added proudly.

About to tell Hermione off for not speaking in Hagrid's defense, Harry instead looked at Daniel with a furrowed brow. "I thought you said your dad's name is Alex?"

"It is. Alex Rubeus."

Harry actually grinned, looking pleased.

"Oh Harry." Hermione's eyes seemed to be glistening.

Caelum's mouth opened, but snapped closed when Ry stomped on his foot. Harry didn't need to know about how his second son was actually named after Snape. Ry's uncle, Albus, had been extremely resentful once he found out from his godfather, Neville, about what Snape was truly like as a man rather than as the hero that Ry's grandfather painted him. According to the rest of the family, Albus often got sulky if anyone used his full name, which was why he legally changed his name to Alex Rubeus. Ry was still incredulous, though, at his grandparents' cruelty. They had worshiped Snape while making Neville the godfather of someone named after the man who bullied him.

The rest of the carriage ride was spent in silence. As they got closer to the castle, Ry became more worried. John was going to be sorted with the other first-years, but the rest of them were going to be sorted again in front of everyone. Even without the public humiliation, though, Ry would be nervous. He wasn't sure if he could be a Slytherin in this time period.

McGonagall was waiting for them at the steps leading up to the entrance, and instructed Ry and his family to wait in a room off the hall. They stayed there silently while waiting for the first-years to be sorted. Shortly after Ry heard John put in Gryffindor, McGonagall called them in.

"Please join me in welcoming…" Dumbledore paused and glanced at where Harry sat, "our new exchange students!"

 _It's a horrible lie! Don't perpetuate it, you idiot._

"I'll be calling you up alphabetically starting with the youngest," said McGonagall. "Please listen for your name."

With each person that was sorted into their former house, the knot of tension inside Ry became bigger. Daniel, Nick, and Juliet were in Gryffindor again. Elizabeth sat alone at the Ravenclaw table, watching people furtively, while Orion was welcomed in Hufflepuff. Addie and Alphard were put in Slytherin, and after Caelum was sorted into Gryffindor, Ry let out a breath and moved forward. The hat descended onto his head, and he was disappointed to find out that now he was older, it didn't cover his view of the hall as well.

"Ah, bravery," the hat said into his ear, and Ry jumped. "Yes, plenty of it, along with stubbornness. Hmm, and loyalty to your friends and family… But you're also resourceful…I think you'd be perfect in… SLYTHERIN!"

When Ry handed the hat back to McGonagall and turned to the Slytherin table, Alphard offered him a weak smile. Soon, Keyla and Cygnus were sitting across from them, and with several people's eyes on their group next to the first-years, Ry in turn watched his sister for the rest of the night.

 **~FoD~**

After dinner, Harry was greatly relieved to have the future travelers with him. Juliet gave Neville a beaming smile, encouraging him to join them, and together they headed to the Gryffindor tower while Ron and Hermione guided the first-years.

"You'll have to be careful about Umbridge," Daniel said.

"I know, Hermione already told me," Harry answered as he caught Nick from falling into a trick stair. Nick frowned at it and muttered that it wasn't there in his time, which Harry found peculiar. Harry didn't think Hogwarts had ever changed in the numerous centuries it had stood.

When Harry entered the dormitory, it was to find Dean and Seamus already there. The two friends fell silent, and Seamus turned away, reaching for his pajamas. Harry knew they had been talking about him.

"Hello," said Caelum, striding toward Dean with his hand held out. "I'm Caelum Black. Pleasure to meet you."

Once again, Harry had to conceal his surprise as Dean only greeted Caelum affably rather than asking about his name.

"Good holiday?" Dean asked them.

Caelum flinched, but despite his stiff smile that he forced immediately afterward, Dean noticed.

"Are… Are you okay?" Dean asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Caelum said, waving him off. "What about you? How was your summer?"

"It was okay," Dean replied. "Better than Seamus', anyway, he was just telling me."

"Why, what happened, Seamus?" Neville asked.

As Seamus took a long moment to respond, Harry kneeled in front of his trunk with a scowl. He had a feeling where this was headed, and Seamus didn't disappoint.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back," muttered Seamus.

"Do you believe anything that Rita Skeeter writes?" Caelum asked conversationally.

"Of course not," Seamus retorted, surprised, and even Harry was startled by the abrupt question.

"Then if the _Daily Prophet_ is willing to publish her articles, what does it say about the standard of the rest of the newspaper?"

Seamus flinched, but then he stiffened his shoulders and sneered. "You believe all the rubbish he's come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he's telling the truth?"

Harry, who had just gotten into bed and was about to close the curtains, froze. Even Dean and Neville looked around in interest.

"I think you should ask my cousin that," said Caelum in a carefully controlled tone. "Ask him what it was like to see the Killing Curse hit his sister. Ask him what it was like to see the Mark in the sky. Ask him what it was like to have no one believe you, because you're from a small town and surely you're just imagining your sister's death."

Harry's mind raced. _How much of that is true?_ He, unlike his roommates, had the privilege of knowing that Caelum was from the future, but no one had spoken of the death in their family, at least not within Harry's hearing range.

Caelum met Seamus' eyes, challenging. "We were all homeschooled until now. Do you really think we'd all suddenly come here without a good reason?"

Seamus looked away, and by the time Ron arrived, everyone was in bed and silent. Harry fell asleep to the familiar sound of his roommates' snores. Sometime around midnight, though, he woke up with an extreme desire to use the restroom. With slow motions he pulled his curtains open and stumbled across the dormitory to the bathroom.

When he came back into the room, a bit more awake now, Harry noticed a faint light coming through Caelum's curtains. It was only when Caelum reached out to grab something on his nightstand, though, that Harry was able to hear any voices. He thought it might have been Ry who just finished speaking, and Caelum hissed something softly in response, too low for Harry to distinguish the words.

The curtains closed, blocking sound again, and Harry realized that Caelum must be using a silencing charm while talking to Ry on the mirror. _I need to ask him about that…_ Sirius had given a similar mirror to Harry before he left, but Harry didn't want to risk anyone catching him talking to Sirius without some safety measures in place first.

 **FoD**

The next morning whispers broke out across the hall when Ry dropped into a seat beside Caelum at the Gryffindor table. He brushed it off at first, thinking people were mistaking him for Harry again, but then he remembered Dumbledore's spell ensured that people wouldn't notice his appearance, either.

"What's their problem?" he muttered to his cousin.

Caelum covered his mouth as he yawned. "Fred and George are experimenting on the students, so now they're not talking to each other."

"Who?" Ry said, confused.

"Ron and Hermione." Caelum frowned at him. "What are _you_ talking about?"

"Everyone else."

The loud whispers, curious stares, and fingers pointed in their direction still continued. Caelum's head tilted to the side, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"It's because you're a Slytherin," said Ron. "Pass the bacon, would you?"

Ry did so automatically. "What does that matter?" he asked.

"You're a Slytherin," Ron explained slowly, "sitting at the Gryffindor table."

Caelum and Ry exchanged a look.

"Well that's stupid," muttered Caelum, leaning his head on one hand as he poked at his eggs. There were deep bags underneath his eyes, and Ry felt a stab of guilt for keeping his cousin up last night. "The Sorting Hat said we should be united. It's about time that happened. Besides, Andre is with Keyla and Cygnus."

Ry twisted around to see that was true. Unlike him, though, Andre wasn't wearing his tie yet, and as a new student people wouldn't be able to easily identify him as a Gryffindor.

The bell rang for class to begin, and Ry and Caelum rose to follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of the Great Hall. Alphard jogged to catch up with them, drawing even more strange stares to their group. Ahead of them Harry was walking stiffly, his shoulders in a tight line.

After glancing around to ascertain they wouldn't be heard, Caelum murmured to Alphard, "How'd it happen?"

Alphard swallowed thickly. "Attack on Diagon Alley," he said lowly. "Dad… He saw some kids trapped, and he got them out, but… He didn't make it."

Caelum nodded silently, his shoulders drooping even more.

Hermione glanced back at them. "Are you alright?" she asked.

 _I've lost my godfather and Caelum's lost his uncle and Alphard's lost his dad all in one go. Yeah, we're fucking perfect._

"Fine, we were just talking about all of the differences compared to our school," Ry said, smiling pleasantly, but he knew it didn't deceive her for a moment. Alphard might have been good at hiding his emotions, and Ry could to an extent, but Caelum's face was an open book.

"See you in Potions," Caelum muttered when they reached the third floor.

Ry and Alphard continued up to the sixth floor for Study of Ancient Runes. They were translating the runes on placards belonging to the prisoners of Azkaban. A bit of hysterical laughter bubbled up inside Ry when he got the one for Sirius Black, which had the runes Kaunan and Gebo for "torch" and "gift". He was biting his lip for the rest of the lesson, and hid the paper from Alphard's view, not wanting to remind Alphard of his own father's death.

Then came the class Ry was anticipating the most. When he caught sight of Snape opening the door, he nudged Caelum and murmured, "Care for some fun?"

Caelum glanced at the greasy bat ushering them inside and shrugged. "Sure."

They sat at the front, which made Hermione pleased as she got a partner in Alphard. Snape didn't notice anything amiss, though, until he began calling the roll. He paused briefly on Caelum's name, which wasn't an obvious astronomy name, and glanced up as if to ascertain that Caelum was a real Black. His eyes widened when he saw Ry and Caelum sitting together.

Ry smirked. _Obviously the spell doesn't apply to him._

The classroom was entirely silent, and Ry noticed quite a few people looking at Snape in fear. Neville even seemed to have broken into a cold sweat when Snape's gaze lingered on him. Ry shifted minutely, drawing Snape's attention back to him, and meeting Snape's soulless black eyes, let his mouth curl into an obvious sneer of disgust.

"Only an incapable moron would have so many people failing his class," Caelum muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Mr. Black?" Snape said loudly.

Caelum blinked at him. "I was merely asking my cousin for the definition of a moron, sir."

"For me, it's someone who lacks good judgement," Ry said thoughtfully. "Would you agree to that, Professor? For example, in a sentence, 'Someone who chooses to join the Death Eaters is a moron.'"

The class gasped as one. Snape's face twisted into an ugly snarl, but another voice spoke before he could spit out a response.

"Or, alternatively, 'Someone who follows Voldemort is a moron,'" Alphard drawled.

Several people in the class cringed. Even Harry, sat on Hermione's other side, looked around at them with bulging eyes.

" _Do not use the Dark Lord's name!_ " Snape roared.

Ry's brows rose. "The Dark Lord?" he repeated. "Isn't that how a Death Eater refers to Voldemort?"

"Ah, that explains it," Caelum said with a nod. "Snape is a spy for Voldemort, and by furthering the dissension between Slytherin and other Houses, he's indoctrinating more Slytherins to Voldemort's side. Genius, I must admit."

" _Out!_ " Snape yelled, spittle flying from his lips. "Out of my classroom!"

"Gladly," Alphard said, wiping his face clean. "Ugh. That's gross."

They rose and began to collect their books. Unexpectedly, a blonde girl stood and made to follow them out of the room.

"Ms. Greengrass," Snape called. "I do not recall dismissing you."

She turned, green eyes flat. "I'm sorry, sir, but my parents told me to stay away from Death Eaters. We have a reputation to uphold, after all."

The class sat stunned. Ry wondered if a Slytherin had ever stood up against Snape. From their expressions, he thought this might be the first time it had happened. Another blonde girl mouthed, 'Daphne, don't,' her eyes wide.

Then Neville stood, knocked his chair to the floor, bent to pick it up, and mumbled, "M-Me too… My gran said not to trust a Death Eater."

"Neville's right," Ron announced in a loud voice. "I don't want to be taught by a Death Eater. Come on, Harry."

Ry watched incredulously as the Gryffindors left the room in mass exodus. Only Hermione seemed to hesitate, taking time to gather her supplies, but eventually she followed them. Daphne glared at her fellow Slytherins, challenging. The other blonde girl glanced around, swallowed, and then scrabbled to collect her own supplies, her hair hiding her face as she rushed to the door. After another moment, a dark-skinned boy trudged behind her.

The door closed, and they all stood together, waiting for Snape to pursue them. When he didn't, Seamus turned to face them with a beaming smile.

"That was _brilliant_."

Neville let out a whimper. "My gran's going to _kill_ me."

"Kill you?" Ron said incredulously. "I'll bet she'll be bloody proud of you!"

As the other Gryffindors congratulated Neville on his bravery, Ry watched Daphne and her two friends walk away. The words to call after her clogged in his throat. Alphard glanced at him and offered a sympathetic smile.

* * *

 **AN:** Fun fact: the reason that I chose to have the couples have so many children is not only because they're part Weasley, but because people who are closely related tend to have more children… and the wizarding world is pretty insulated. Harry is an only child because his parents died; Draco likely because his parents didn't want more attention after the fall of Voldemort in 1981; and Tonks likely because Andromeda didn't want to draw her family's attention.

 **AN2:** Reviews make me happy, yo. Critiques. Support. I can take 'em. (Except that one person who told me to kill myself. Please don't come back. And if you're still reading, well, that's on you, pal.)

 **AN3:** Just found out I lost readers for the last chapter. Is Snape a hero? Yes. But if he's gray like Rowling said, then it's a gray so dark you have to put black next to it to know it's gray.

 **AN4:** Ahahaha. Just had this happen: "Hagrid was also a gryffindor ergo did not in fact under go direct suspicion of being evil or loony or lame like luna was in ravenclaw or severus in slytherin and hufflepuff. He was also a favorite of dumbledore and had actual good environment and influences to his person so of course he is a good person"

Someone didn't read CoS or PoA.


	6. Interlude 1

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

 ** _2020_**

James slammed open the door to his father's office. Sitting at the desk, Harry jumped, looking up with wide green eyes. He hastily flicked his wand at the door, closing it again as James spoke in a shaking voice.

"Why? Why is it okay for Albus to be in Slytherin but not me? I've done everything you've expected of me, but the moment I'm sorted into Slytherin, you hardly even talk to me anymore!"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "James…"

"One letter. That's all you've sent me in years, and it was congratulating me on being in Gryffindor. It's not _my_ fault the newspapers got the information wrong!"

"Your mother's sent you quite a few -"

James barked out a laugh, cutting off his father's excuse.

"Yeah, because she's trying to make up for you." He braced his hands on the desk, leaned forward, and spoke through his teeth with forced restraint. "So why, Dad? Why all the preferential treatment to Al?"

"Because he's not _YOU_!" Harry roared.

There was a heavy silence in which only Harry's loud breaths could be heard. They both stared at each other, shocked by the admittance. Then James spun around and with uneven steps headed to the door. He hastened up the stairs to his bedroom, where he dragged out a trunk and began throwing things into it with no organization. All of his movements were jerky, and he finally grabbed his wand and with a wave, several belongings soared into the air and then settled into the trunk.

 _And they say_ Slytherins _are the bigots,_ James thought bitterly, recalling words he had heard on numerous occasions as a child. His Uncle Ron had been the most vocal about it, but Uncle George hadn't minded throwing a few insults, either, and Ginny's lips always pressed tight when the conversation came up.

"You're not supposed to use magic outside of school."

His younger brother stood in the doorway, his green eyes overly bright.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know Dad…"

James looked away. "It's not your fault," he muttered.

Al's fists were tight, fingernails biting into his palms. "Where will you go?"

"The Blacks', probably. We'll still see each other, Al."

Al's jaw set into a hard, blazing expression, and for a moment, James understood why the family used to fear Ginny. "Of course we will," Al said with determination. "You're still my brother. I don't care if you're in Slytherin."

James smiled bitterly. "Thanks, Al."

He stood and put his shrunken trunk into his pocket. When Al glanced up at him and then way again, James paused before pulling him into a hug. Al clung to him.

"I'm sorry," Al mumbled. "I didn't… I was a coward. I chose Gryffindor…"

James stroked Al's light auburn hair, much as a mother would do for her child. "I know," he said quietly. "I don't blame you."

Then he stepped away, and Al's arms reluctantly dropped from around him. With anguished eyes, Al watched James cross to the window, broom in hand. James climbed onto the sill and let his legs dangle over the side. He glanced back at Al with a forced smile, and then pushed off.

He was falling only for a few seconds before he rose up into the air. From behind him, he heard his father shout for him to stop, but James ignored him. He didn't care about being seen by Muggles; in fact, he reveled in the idea of creating more of a hassle for Harry.

By broom, where he was in the sky and free, it took short time to reach the countryside. Although it had mostly been an impulsive decision to run away, Sirius had given instructions to James on how to find his house. James just hadn't expected the manor to be quite so large. He landed in the yard and looked up at the house in awe. It was much like a Roman palace and James didn't understand why his father had given the rights for it to Mr. Black. The house looked big enough to hold the entire Weasley family, including their extended relations.

 _We could've lived here instead of the townhouse,_ he realized, but once he was aware of the resentment, he shook it away. It was only proper for the Black family to own Blackburn Hall.

Slinging his broom over his shoulder, James took in a deep breath and then mounted the steps to the door. Hopefully, this would be his new home for the remainder of the summer.

"Hope you're not here to see my cousin," a familiar voice drawled from behind him.

With a yelp, James swung around and pointed his broom at the potential attacker. He relaxed when he saw Sirius, laughing as he languished against the column. James scowled and withdrew his weapon of choice, hoping that Sirius wouldn't think about the possible innuendo.

"Ivy's not here, by the way," Sirius said, straightening and leading the way to the door. He glanced back at James with a playful grin. "But we can invite her, if you want."

"Oh, shut up," sighed James. "I told you, I'm not interested."

"Mm-hmm, sure you aren't."

They entered the marbled entrance hall, which had a ceiling that rivaled that of the Enchanted Ceiling in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Looking up at it, James saw paintings depicting the stars upon which the Black family was named. Momentarily, he forgot his own troubles, overtaken by the grandeur of the house. Now he understood why Sirius hadn't been very impressed by Hogwarts.

"Wow," James breathed, unable to think of any other word to sum up his feelings.

Sirius shrugged. "It's alright, I suppose."

Incredulous, James blinked rapidly followed by openly staring at his friend.

"I'm _joking_ ," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"I think I hated you for a moment there," James admitted.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the floor above as Regulus descended the flight of steps. His brows rose when he saw James and he looked in silent question at Sirius. They must have shared some sort of unspoken communication, for Regulus then turned back to James and said, "Alright?"

James let out a shaky breath. As always, there was a slight tingling at the edge of his awareness, but otherwise, it was quiet.

"Alright," he agreed.

 **FoD**

Al's trolley thumped over cracks in the ground as he pushed through the crowd. Beside him was Lily, who had taken her own cart from Harry while giving him a contemptuous look. The skin had bunched around Harry's eyes and he watched them walk away with a pained stare. Al clenched his jaw and refused to glance back; Harry had never done so for James, not even caring if his eldest son made it to the platform safely, and so Al didn't care how Harry felt being abandoned by his other two children.

 _There is no 'other,'_ a snide voice whispered in his mind. _You're the_ only _children._

Ginny had done nothing to stop them. She had taken only a single, faltering step as if to follow Al and Lily, but Harry put a hand on her arm and she stayed beside him. Her gaze had ping-ponged, avoiding direct eye contact with any of them. Then she mustered a wavering smile, pretending that everything was alright with their family and James hadn't chosen to run away.

Al paused in front of the brick wall which acted as a barrier to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters.

"Go on," he told Lily.

She looked up at him, letting their gazes meet. Then she nodded tightly and faced the barrier again. As he watched her pass through it, Al yearned for the past. This used to be the time James would break in with his playful teasing, helping to distract them from the reality of their situation. Al hadn't ever realized how much he relied on it, or that he didn't really know how to be a big brother to Lily.

"Albus Severus!"

It was his mother trying to reach him, not caring about the scornful looks people were giving her. Other than Harry, Al couldn't think of a single person who liked Snape. He had avoided meeting Dumbledore's portrait so his own mind couldn't be swayed. Love did not redeem terrible deeds, no matter what Harry and Dumbledore thought.

" _Don't_ call me that," he snapped.

Ginny swallowed hard. "I know," she said. "I'm sorry. I regret that decision."

Al crossed his arms. "I wasn't aware you even had a part in the decision."

She flinched and looked away; they both knew it was true. Then she met his gaze again, her bright brown eyes appearing wet.

"Just – could you give James my love, please?"

Al let his eyes trail to over her shoulder, where Harry lingered at a distance. Two pairs of green eyes met for a single moment, and then Al looked at his mother again, who continued to watch him desperately.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I can do that, Mum."

Then he turned his back on both his parents and walked through the barrier.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Despite their unity against Snape, Seamus still seemed hesitant in believing Harry, but at least he made no more disparaging remarks. One time he tried to ask Harry what happened with Cedric, but before the words were even fully out of his mouth Hermione launched into a rant about the twins undermining her.

Class with Umbridge was even worse, though. On the first day, Harry nearly burst out in anger, but Caelum had placed a silencing spell on him and Harry spent the rest of the class brooding silently.

"You want me to ignore it?" Harry snapped afterward. "She's telling everyone I'm a liar!"

"Caelum did the right thing," said Hermione. "Shouting at her would have only made it worse."

"Besides, she's already conducting her own downfall," Caelum added. "People are finding her less believable since she's refusing to teach us."

Ron stared at him. "Mate, how are you _not_ in Slytherin?"

Caelum shrugged. "I prefer fire to water," he said, which only confused Harry and Ron but made Hermione smile.

Most surprising of all, however, was when Keyla found Ron, Harry, and Hermione in the library.

"Greengrass believes you," she told Harry.

He frowned, trying to put a face to the name and coming up blank. "Who?"

"Daphne Greengrass. She's a Slytherin but her family is known for being neutral." Keyla paused as Ron made a sound of disbelief. "Snape has done well in driving most of Slytherin toward Voldemort, but not all. Don't discount them, Harry."

Before Harry could ask what she was talking about, Andre arrived and slammed a newspaper onto the table. As he erected a silencing ward around them, the others looked at the paper. Harry frowned when he saw that it was the _Daily Prophet_ , which continued to do nothing but slander him.

Once the shield was completed, Andre pointed to the article that irritated him. It described an attack on a Muggle town, but although it reported that many were killed, there were no other details.

"Snape did this," Andre stated. "The attacks didn't start until later originally."

Keyla's brow furrowed. "But he works for Dumbledore…"

"He found out that the Potter, Black, and Lupin lines continued on," Andre pointed out. "The three people he hated the most. He might be protecting Harry as a repentance to Lily, but he doesn't actually _care_ for Harry." He jabbed a finger at the paper. "What do we matter to him? As long as his debt is payed, everyone else can die. Remember how many students he let be tortured?"

Her mouth twisted. "He and Dumbledore are the only people who know about us other than our grandparents," Keyla murmured.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Harry.

Neither Andre nor Keyla answered immediately, making Harry thoroughly irritated. His knuckles became white from clenching his fists so hard. They were looking at each other and stalling.

Finally, Keyla wet her lips and spoke slowly. "Voldemort initially lay low. It wasn't until nineteen-ninety-six, after the death of Sirius Black revealed his return, that he began an outright war."

Harry's heart beat fast. Adrenaline coursed through his system, and he was only barely aware of leaping to his feet or Hermione's shout calling for him to come back. There was a pounding in his head, and his chest was so constricted that he had difficulty breathing. _Not Sirius_ , he thought. _Not Sirius._

Bursting into his dormitory, he dove for his trunk and searched for the mirror Sirius had given him.

"Sirius Black!" he said, and within seconds his godfather's face appeared in the mirror.

"Harry? What's going on? Are you alright?"

Seeing Sirius' concerned gaze, Harry felt a bit silly. The fist wrapped around his heart eased. Sir _ius isn't dead yet,_ he reminded himself. _I can change it._ Yet he still felt broken and defeated. He wondered who else would die before the end of the war.

Harry swallowed thickly. "I… I just wanted to talk to you," he said lamely. "I miss you."

After a moment, Sirius' expression softened. "I miss you, too," he said gently. "I'd take you any day over these munchkins."

Harry hoped that his smile didn't look as strained as it felt. "Is that because you have paint in your hair?"

Reaching up and touching his head, Sirius made a noise as his hand came back purple. "So that's why Remus said I looked like Henri," he grumbled.

"What were you painting?" Harry asked curiously.

"The girls' room," answered Sirius. "We've been clearing out more bedrooms so there's room for everyone when you come back for Christmas."

Heat radiated through Harry's chest. He liked the idea of spending Christmas with Sirius. Until now, Harry had always spent the holiday at Hogwarts, and although it was certainly magical, there was a certain aspect that was always missing.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Sirius. "Henri suggested that you should learn Occlumency."

"Occlumency? What's that?"

"It's a Mind Art," Sirius explained. "It prevents anyone from accessing your thoughts or influencing them. I think he's right. It would be a good idea for you."

Harry frowned, disturbed that his deepest thoughts might be open for anyone to view.

"Get someone there to teach you," Sirius advised. "He said everyone in their family knows it."

Harry scrambled to think to whom he was closest. "So I should I ask Ry to teach me Occlumency?"

"Not Ry!"

The shout was so sudden and forceful that Harry almost dropped the mirror. On the other side, Sirius turned just enough that Harry was able to get a glimpse of Henri behind him. Henri drew in slow, steady breaths, trying to calm down before he spoke again.

"Sorry," he said. "Anyone but Ry. His… type of Occlumency isn't applicable to anyone else. Don't ask Alphard, either."

Harry nodded cautiously. "Okay…"

"Elizabeth is a good choice," Henri continued.

Biting his lip, Harry realized that he had entirely forgotten about Ry's younger sister. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll ask her."

 **~FoD~**

It was decided that Harry would meet Elizabeth once a week in the Room of Requirement. He had never heard of the place, and looked around in amazement when she showed it to him. A fireplace was roaring in one corner with two comfortable armchairs in front of it. She gestured for him to sit down. Then she launched into a series of questions concerning his abilities in other forms of Mind Magic.

"You can throw off the Imperius and Veela magic doesn't work on you?" Elizabeth ascertained, and at Harry's cautious nod, she continued. "Okay. Occlumency should be easy for you, then. Close your eyes."

"If this is something like that meditation where you clear your thoughts, then I can't do it," Harry warned, and she snorted.

"Please. No one can stop _thinking_. A lot of people misunderstand Occlumency. It's not that you stop thinking and feeling. You just stop acknowledging it. See the difference?"

"Sort of…" Harry said with a clear edge of doubt in his voice.

Elizabeth sighed and dragged her hands through her hair. "Alright. How about this… When you're in a dangerous situation, do you allow the fear to control your actions? It's like that."

Recalling the graveyard, Harry knew that if he'd reacted only based on his fear, then he'd most likely be dead. He nodded, and Elizabeth seemed pleased.

"Close your eyes," she said again. "Now, I'm going to enter your mind. Don't worry, I'm not going to look at anything… Here are some images. Try not to react to any of them."

For the next hour, Elizabeth presented several images to his mind. By the end of it, Harry had almost completely stopped his first visceral reaction to them. Elizabeth sounded confident when she told him that he would definitely be able to learn Occlumency.

 **~FoD~**

"So it wasn't Snape ratting us out," Andre said, disappointed.

Now that it was the weekend the family had all gathered in the Room of Requirement, discussing everything they had learned about the present world over the past two weeks. Most of them were playing various games at the same time, although Alphard kept shooting glances toward Keyla and Cygnus, who were sitting closer than usual to each other on the couch. Ry did a mental calculation and then suppressed his relief.

A few years after the Second Wizarding War a law was passed that forbade anyone closer than third cousins to get married. It was a method intending to get away from the pureblood ideals. Keyla and Cygnus, at third cousins once removed, were almost directly outside the limit. It wasn't like they had grown up together, either. The Malfoy and Black families hardly associated with each other despite their closer relation.

"I don't think so," said Elizabeth to Andre's comment. "Voldemort was able to glean enough information from Harry that he knew Harry felt like the Order could win the war. That's it. Nothing about us."

Ry shook his head. "Sometimes you're really scary," he told his sister, and she smiled.

"It's amazing, though," she continued. "Harry really is a natural."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Well, of course. He's Harry Po – Shit!"

John laughed as Daniel's king was clobbered to pieces. Grumbling, Daniel nudged one chess piece, and the broken parts began crawling toward each other and reassembling. Daniel and John began setting up the board again.

"Poshit," Orion said thoughtfully. "Harry Poshit. I like it."

Ry flicked an Exploding Snap card at him. "Watch it, Malfoy. That's _my_ name you're butchering."

Cygnus leaned over the arm of the couch, looking at them curiously. "What game is that, anyway?"

"A variation of President," Nick answered. "I think it might be an American game, but I don't really know. Mum taught it to us."

"Sometimes it's called Arsehole," Juliet said brightly.

"Also analogous with Snape," called Andre from the other side of the room, and Daniel snickered appreciatively.

Addie blinked as a set of cards exploded. "It's fiery."

"That's the Burn Pile," Caelum added for Cygnus' benefit, "where our hopes for education go to die."

They had found that the Hogwarts curriculum in this era was sorely lacking. In every Potions class, Snape deliberately made the instructions confusing so that most people failed. History of Magic became the designated nap time. Astronomy was easy because Sirius, Regulus, and Scorpius had taught them the major constellations and stars. Defense Against the Dark Arts was most disappointing of all, and Ry spent every class with his head bent over the book, gazing sightlessly at the page in front of him.

It didn't help that Snape had developed a vendetta against Ry, Caelum, and Alphard after the first class. Despite that, Ry felt no regret for his actions, and he showed up to each detention with a smile, which seemed to only irritate Snape more. Snape's hatred then extended to the rest of the family when Keyla heard about his treatment of Alphard. She wasn't going to let anyone hurt her brother in any manner after losing their father, and the others rallied behind her, purposefully provoking Snape at any opportunity.

Ry smirked to himself. Snape should've known to never cross a Black.

 **~FoD~**

Sirius did not appreciate being banished upstairs with Henri and the little devils, but, as Snape kindly pointed out, he never contributed much to the discussion anyway.

 _Fucker was on the wrong side of the war and the old bastard still trusts him more than me,_ Sirius thought resentfully, slamming his bedroom door closed behind him.

Then again, Sirius didn't trust Dumbledore either, not after finding out snippets of Harry's life at the Dursley house. He still remembered how excited Harry became when Sirius offered for them to live together. That wasn't the normal reaction of a well-adjusted child; Sirius of all people knew that.

Dropping onto his bed, Sirius put his head in his hands. "Fuck," he whispered to himself. "I've messed up, Prongs."

A knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts. At his grunt of acknowledgement, Remus quietly slipped into the room.

"There's not much going on," said Remus, swinging the desk chair around and sitting down with his arms crossed over the top. "Even I'm starting to wonder the purpose of Snape. He's not giving much information."

Sirius let out a dry laugh and flopped back on his bed. Above him on the ceiling was the Canis Major constellation, and he easily picked out his own star. Each of their names had been drilled into him as a child. Somehow, despite his hatred of his family, he found comfort in the old familiarity.

"He hasn't really done that much for Harry, either," Remus continued thoughtfully. "From what I've heard, the only time Snape has really protected him was Harry's first year. Third year doesn't count because we all know he only wanted to catch you. I doubt he was even thinking of Harry then."

Sirius lifted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come now Sirius, I know you're much cleverer than that," Remus said wryly. "Dumbledore insists Snape is on our side. What do you think was the collateral for that?"

"Lily," Sirius breathed. "You think Snivellus was involved in her death, and this is his penance?"

Remus tapped the top of the chair. "It makes sense, doesn't it? Snape wouldn't willingly protect the son of James Potter, not even if he is the son of Lily too, unless he felt guilty."

Heat flushed through Sirius' body. In a surge of movement, Sirius stood from the bed and began pacing the room as his mind finally made the connections to which Remus alluded. It was well-known that Snape was a part of the Inner Circle, proven by the Dark Mark on his arm. He would have known about Wormtail's betrayal before it even happened.

"I'm going to kill him," Sirius growled.

"You've already tried that once," said Remus idly.

"That wasn't intentional, and you know it," Sirius snapped.

Remus nodded. "I know. Snape went into that situation knowingly and willingly, and that's why I forgave you."

Breathing heavily, Sirius swung around to face the window. Lightning cracked in the inky night sky. Moments later there came the rumbling thunder, like the anger thrumming in his veins, and right on cue the rain began to fall haphazardly from the sky.

 **~FoD~**

Lightning struck outside the window, but that wasn't what woke Harry up. He was trying to remember fragments of a dream centered on Snape when the flash of light showed a shadow stretching over his curtains. Heart beating a staccato beat against his chest, Harry snatched up his wand. The person on the other side of the curtains paused at the end of his bed and then moved on.

Then a harsh whisper broke the silence. "Caelum, wake up!"

As Caelum grumbled in response, Harry twitched his curtains aside to peek at Andre leaning over his cousin.

"We need to go," Andre hissed.

Caelum sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Go?" he echoed. "Go where?"

"The forest, you idiot!" Andre snapped.

Caelum's hands dropped. "Oh."

Then at an alarming speed, Caelum leaped out of bed, pulled on robes over his pajamas and yanking on boots. Andre was bent down at Caelum's trunk, digging ferociously through it. At last he stood with an amulet dangling from his hand. Caelum took it from him and pulled it over his head. The obsidian stone was tucked beneath his shirt.

"How bad is it this time?" asked Caelum quietly.

"Bad," Andre answered grimly. "Come on. I don't know how long Alphard can contain him."

Harry waited until their footsteps faded down the staircase before getting out of bed himself. Quietly he opened his trunk and fetched his Invisibility Cloak. He did not bother waking Ron as he crept after Andre and Caelum.

A flush of adrenaline tingled through Harry's body when they reached the entrance hall. Below him, Andre and Caelum were striding toward the door, and there was no one but Harry to see or stop them. It was like all of this planned.

Hastening down the steps, Harry slipped through the door in time to see them crossing the dark grounds. Though the rain had stopped, it was still exceptionally cloudy, hiding the moon, and Harry's breath felt heavy in the remaining humidity. Ahead of him Andre and Caelum were entering the Forbidden Forest. Reaching the same point, Harry realized they were not following any path.

 _I should go back_ , he reasoned, but another voice inside him insisted, _They're keeping something from you._

His stomach roiled at the decision, but his feet were already taking him further inside the forest. The trees rose thick and old around him, and Harry tripped over several twisted roots. Above him the canopy was so dense that it blocked out what little light was able to pass through the clouds.

Then, from ahead of Harry, came a voice.

"Who's there?"

Harry froze, thinking it was Andre, Caelum, or another family member who heard him, but instead it was a centaur that stepped out from behind the trees. Harry vaguely recalled him from his first time in the forest with Hagrid.

"Even during the day when they cannot be seen, the stars are there," said Ronan. "Show yourself, human."

Slowly Harry lowered his cloak. He felt that he did not have much choice. His cheeks burned as the centaur stared at him with emotionless eyes.

"Go back, human," Ronan said gruffly, turning away. "This is not a place for you."

"Wait, I just – I was following –"

The centaur looked back at him. Ronan's brows rose and he gave Harry a glassy stare. "The path is straight ahead if you only turn around."

Harry clenched his jaw, but the centaur said nothing more, cantering away before Harry could demand an explanation. Heart thudding dully in his chest, Harry spun around and marched back in the direction he'd come. Shortly he found a path, and at the end of it the Hogwarts grounds beckoned to him, the moon appearing long enough to reflect off the lake.

* * *

 **AN:** Story idea: Time travel? De-aging? Sirius Black hasn't ever claimed to be sane, but even he wouldn't be able to come up with this. Unfortunately, it becomes his life when he wakes up in 1991 at eleven years old. _Requirement_ : Sirius is a Slytherin.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

When the weekend arrived, it brought with it a mountain of homework. Ron was in a rotten mood after a disastrous Quidditch match. Harry had been surprised that none of the future travelers tried out for the team, but Daniel explained later that they were trying to lay low.

"Besides, it'd be unfair," Daniel added with a grin. "Maybe bloody, too."

Harry's brows rose, but Daniel only winked and walked away.

Sunday was devoted to catching up on their homework. After returning from a walk out on the grounds with Juliet, Hermione had rolled her eyes when she saw Ron and Harry still bent over their books. She was now sat in front of the fireplace with John and they were animatedly discussing together. Ron kept glancing over at them, flushing each time Harry caught him.

For his part, Harry alternated between writing a few sentences for his homework and thinking about what had occurred the other night. It was obvious that Ronan knew what was going on in the Forbidden Forest, but Harry couldn't understand what Ry's family was hiding. He'd already checked the lunar calendar, just to confirm that they weren't trying to conceal a werewolf that night.

As the sky outside became darker, most people went up to bed and Hermione wandered over to them, yawning. In her hand was a book titled _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_.

"What were you talking about?" asked Ron as if he had not been eavesdropping on her and John.

"Hmm? Oh, this play." She opened the book, and Harry could see red ink marking the pages in her own handwriting. "I've never heard of the writer, but the characters all seem unrealistic and stereotypical. John said his grandmother – er, I mean the future me – gave it to him to read as a satire." Hermione paused on the first page, grimacing. "It reminds me of Rita Skeeter's writing, honestly. Just sensationalism."

"Doesn't sound worth reading, then," said Harry.

"No, it doesn't," agreed Hermione.

"You'll probably read it, anyway," Ron said, but there was only fondness and no malice in his tone.

She blushed. "Well, maybe." Then her attention was drawn over to the window, and she squinted. "Isn't that Hermes?"

Ron's eyes widened and he stood to open the window. "Blimey, it is! What's Percy writing to me for?"

The owl flew inside and held out a leg for Ron to detach the letter. Then it departed at once. Ron stared at the scroll. Biting his lip, he was about to unroll it when the portrait opened and Daniel and Juliet climbed inside.

"We got detention for a _month_ ," Daniel announced, and Harry couldn't tell if he was bragging or not.

"What?" Hermione gasped. "How?"

Daniel kicked off his shoes and flopped into the chair next to Harry. "Oh, I told Snape that fixating on a person that's happily in love with someone else is wrong," he said. "I'm pretty sure he has Nice Guy Syndrome. That's what Juliet called it, at least. You know, where a man thinks… What did you say exactly?"

"Where a man thinks a relationship with a woman is the only possible source of happiness in his life," said Juliet, "and when she rejects him, he becomes depressed."

"And you said all of that to _Snape_?" Ron gave a slow, disbelieving shake of the head.

Juliet lifted one shoulder in a shrug, but she wore a satisfied smile.

"We were only trying to give him some advice," Daniel said earnestly.

Though Hermione's lips were clamped together, Harry knew she was resisting a smile. Clearing her throat, she turned to Ron. "Are you going to read it?" she prompted him.

"Er, yeah. One sec."

Harry watched as Ron's eyebrows furrowed. When Ron finished reading, he looked confused. He handed the letter to Hermione who read it aloud:

 _Dear Ron,_

 _I have only just heard that you have become a Hogwarts prefect. I'm very impressed and I'm proud to see you not following what we might call the 'Fred and George' route. I am certain that you are very capable of handling this responsibility._

 _But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. I know that you are still friends with Harry Potter, and while I commend that, I feel I must warn you. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, or even Dumbledore, but to the school and the Ministry. I shall say only this – a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well-placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years!_

 _I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. I sincerely hope that, in time, our parents will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes._

 _Congratulations again on becoming prefect._

 _Your brother,_

 _Percy_

"It sounds like he really cares about you, Ron," Hermione said when she finished.

"Grandma said that Uncle Percy was always protective of Uncle Ron, while everyone else focused on her," said Daniel thoughtfully.

Ron's ears turned red and he slid down in his chair. "Come on, we've got to get this finished sometime before dawn," he muttered to Harry, pulling the Astronomy essay back towards him.

Juliet leaned forward curiously. "Are those the moons? I can help you with it."

"You can?" Ron looked at her hopefully, and she snorted.

"Of course. I'm named after one. It was how my parents compromised with Grandpa Draco."

Ron's lips moved as if he were trying to find the right thing to say. He finally settled on responding with, "Thanks."

Harry pushed his essay toward her. "Mind looking at mine, too?" he asked, ignoring how Daniel bit his lip and turned away.

 **FoD**

"You've never been one to see a Healer," Emmeline Vance commented, running her wand over Sirius. A parchment and quill hung in the air next to her, and when her wand tip glowed blue with another diagnostic, the quill made another note. "What brought this on?"

Sirius glared at an unapologetic Remus, who was leaning against the door with his arms crossed. "I was tricked."

Emmeline chuckled. "Ah, that explains it." She stood back and read the findings from the parchment. "Hmm, about as I expected. Malnutrition is the biggest one. It's also affected your hypothalamus..."

As she trailed off, looking at the paper thoughtfully, Sirius asked, "What's a hippothalamus?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Remus looking curious, too.

"Hypothalamus," she corrected. "It controls your emotions like anger and pleasure. Have you been more temperamental ever since Azkaban? Or having problems with sexual desire?"

A flush crept across Sirius' cheeks. "Er, yes to the latter." Then, trying to move past that admittance as quickly as possible, added, "But every Black has anger problems. Comes with the inbreeding."

Emmeline hummed absently, her eyes scanning the rest of the notes. "It's possible you're permanently infertile," she warned.

Sirius thought of Keyla, Alphard, Caelum, and Addie. "That's fine," he said quietly.

She completed the examination and assigned several potions to help him recover. When she was done, Remus escorted her out of the bedroom, leaving Sirius alone.

Slowly Sirius stood from the bed and crossed to the desk. Opening the drawer, he retrieved an old photo album and flipped to the later pages. He stopped on the photo of a young couple laughing together. There was a thickness inside Sirius' throat. He had chosen to keep his relationship with Marlene hidden for her safety, but the love was obvious in the glances they darted toward each other.

"Leo James," Sirius murmured. "You would've agreed to that, wouldn't you, Marley?" He smiled slightly and stroked Marlene's laughing features. His vision was beginning to blur. "It won't ever happen now."

There was a knock at his door. With a sigh, he closed the album and replaced it in the drawer, next to the engagement ring he never got to use.

"Come in, Remus," he said heavily.

From the other side of the door, he heard hushed whispers. The voices were too high to be Remus and Emmeline. Surprised, Sirius crossed to the door and opened it to find the twins hovering there. They were already dressed in their pajamas, brown hair disheveled and glasses askew.

Sirius lifted one eyebrow. "Can I help you?" he asked sardonically.

Josh blinked up at him. "Were you crying?"

 _Damn it, why do kids have to be so astute?_

"No, I just got something in my eyes," said Sirius, quickly wiping the tears away. "Why are you two up?"

"This is Harry's room at home," Logan said, peering around Sirius. "He lets us stay with him when we can't sleep."

Sirius glanced uneasily over his own shoulder. He understood the need for familiarity, but he also knew Remus wouldn't approve of him exposing children to the posters that still remained on the walls.

"Give me a second," he told the twins.

Then, before they could protest, he closed the door in their faces. The posters had permanent sticking charms on them so that no one but him could remove them. Sirius ripped them off and shoved them into the fireplace. Taking out his wand, he lit them on fire and the flames devoured the paper. After scanning the room for any more embarrassing teenage trinkets, he called for the twins to enter.

They did so and headed straight for the bed. It was a raised one, and Logan set his stuffed dog onto the bed before pushing Josh up. It was only after Josh helped his brother up that Sirius realized he could have easily lifted them himself.

"Er, so do you often sleep with your brother?" Sirius asked hesitantly. They seemed rather comfortable invading his room.

"Only on bad nights, like when Dad isn't home," said Logan.

"But then we usually stay up all night and Mum makes us hot cocoa," Josh added, rubbing the ear of his stuffed bear between his fingers.

"Your dad is an Auror?"

"Uh-huh. The Head Auror," Josh stated proudly.

Beside him, Logan was silent, his expression somber. His green eyes drifted around the room, lingering on the remaining decorations. "Fire in the blood?"

Sirius glanced at the banner Logan had read from. "It was our Marauder code," he explained. "Silly, really, but we were dorks with nicknames and everything."

"Oh, we have something like that," said Josh, and then hissed out a long phrase.

"English, please," Sirius requested with an amused smile.

The twins exchanged a look, obviously trying to find the right words.

"The living are dead and the dead are living," Logan said at last, sounding hesitant in his own translation.

Sirius blinked. It sounded rather morbid to him. "That's… an unusual code. And doesn't make much sense."

They didn't answer. Logan pulled his legs up to his chest, his chin resting on his knees, and Josh looked down, biting his lip.

 _Whatever the cost,_ a voice whispered in Sirius' mind, _I'll do what I must to protect my son. Even if it means I must face death itself. As long as Harry lives, I don't care._

In a flare of adrenaline, Sirius' brain made the connection between the past and the future. _Death. Life. James, what did you_ do _?_

 **FoD**

When Harry arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast, it was with dark circles beneath his eyes. He hadn't been able to sleep much the previous night due to an odd dream about a dead rabbit. Somehow, Harry knew he had been the one to kill the rabbit.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked hesitantly.

Harry shook the image away. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Ron tipped bacon onto Harry's plate. "Here, eat. Then you'll feel better."

Harry's day only grew worse in Potions when Snape handed back their homework.

"I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week's essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detentions to those dunces who get a 'D,'" Snape said with a nasty smirk.

Harry quickly hid his essay from Hermione, who was obviously trying to get a glance at it out of the corner of her eye. Then he actively listened to Snape's lecture, determined to do better in the class. When he made the potion, he measured carefully and obeyed the directions precisely. Even then, his Strengthening Solution was not the exact shade of clear turquoise desired, but Harry was happy to see it was blue.

"How do you do it?" Ron asked Hermione after the class. "Every time your potion is perfect."

She blushed. "I read the textbook."

"You read the textbook." Ron stared at her incredulously for a moment before turning to Harry. "All of these years and we could have done better by reading the textbook instead of listening to Snape."

"Well, Snape's advice has never been the best," said Caelum, catching up to them. "Did anyone else get a 'D' on their essay?" He let out a heavy sigh. "It's probably because I'm a Black _and_ a Potter."

"Snape wouldn't be that petty," protested Hermione.

 _Oh yes he would,_ Harry thought resentfully, though he knew his own grade was probably deserved.

Caelum's brows rose. Then, silently, he took out his paper and handed it to her. Looking dubious, Hermione scanned it and her mouth fell open.

"This is amazing! How did you not get an 'O'?"

Caelum smirked. "Perhaps because Snape is petty," he said wryly. Then, catching sight of Ry and Alphard ahead of them, he called, "Oi, Twister! What'd you get on Snape's essay?"

His cousins stopped in front of the Entrance Hall.

"A 'P,'" answered Ry. "But you know I'm horrible at Potions."

Having seen much of Ry's brewing, Harry thought that was wrong. Most of Ry's potions were at least in the right color range, which was more than Harry could say for himself.

Alphard crossed his arms. "I should have gotten at _least_ an 'A.'"

Caelum turned to Hermione. "See? Alphard and Ry got a 'P,' and I know I'm better at Potions than them."

They entered the Hall with Caelum following Alphard and Ry to the Slytherin table, where Keyla, Cygnus, and Andre already sat. None of Ry's family seemed to be aware of the House tensions. Addie usually ate with Elizabeth at the Ravenclaw table, and Orion and Nick switched between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor for each meal.

Fred joined them with George. As he sat down next to Harry, Fred asked, "So Harriekins… When're you asking out our sister?"

Harry choked on his soup, and some of it splattered back into his bowl and on the table. Ron pounded him on the back, scowling at Fred and George.

"We don't know when Harry and Ginny started dating," said Hermione. "It might ruin the timeline if they do so now."

Fred's eyebrows rose. "Hermione, darling, our lovely time-travelers here have already ruined the timeline."

Her eyes widened and she gasped. "How did I not think of that?"

"Maybe you were too distracted by your grandkids," teased George.

Ron bent down over his soup while Hermione flushed and fidgeted.

"It's – It's not…" she mumbled. "I mean, it's kind of weird, but not as bad as if they were my kids…"

Though Hermione was sort of rambling, Harry understood. With the more distant relation, he was able to ignore the fact that he would one day marry Ginny. Every time he saw her he tried to hide or flee the room. He was happy that she didn't seem to be fixating on him, but she did often make a display of engaging in conversation with Colin.

Hermione soon turned the discussion to O.W.L.s, and they all laughed except for her when George said, "I've always thought Fred and I should've got 'E' in everything, because we exceeded expectations just by turning up for the exams."

Seeing Hermione's lips pressed tight together in disapproval, Harry resolved to work harder from now on.

"So what have you lot learned in Umbridge's class?" asked Fred brightly, dunking an entire roll in his soup, transferring it to his mouth and swallowing it whole.

"Absolutely nothing," Harry said flatly.

"Actually, I was thinking…" Hermione glanced around for eavesdroppers and then leaned forward, dropping her voice. "I was thinking that – maybe the time's come when we should just – just do it ourselves."

The others stared at her in confusion.

"Do what ourselves?" asked Harry.

She fidgeted again under their gazes. "Well – learn Defense Against the Dark Arts ourselves."

"You want us to do extra work?" Ron said incredulously. "D'you realize Harry and I are behind on homework again and it's only the second week?"

"You can't be behind if you don't do it," Fred told him.

Ron scowled. "Unlike you, I care about my grades." He paused. "A little bit."

Hermione smiled at him, and to hide his blush, Ron snatched another roll and shoved it into his mouth, which only lead to her saying, "Honestly, Ron, that's disgusting. At least chew."

He swallowed loudly, his ears now bright red. "Sorry. We always have to fight for food at home."

"Too right," said George, raising his glass to Ron.

 **FoD**

It was only two nights later that a shadow was cast over the study table at which Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting.

"What's this?" said Harry blankly, staring at the list of names which Andre had just presented to him.

"Aren't those Slytherin names?" added Ron, looking over Harry's shoulder at the parchment.

Andre let out a long-suffering sigh. "You realize that a good portion of our family is in Slytherin, right? The world isn't split into good people and Slytherins – well, I'm pretty sure Annie is the definition of evil, but she's an exception."

Over the course of the month Harry had known him, Andre's humor had become more cynical and deprecating. He was actually starting to remind Harry of Sirius, but Andre seemed to have better impulse control. However, it was a human reaction with which Harry could sympathize. Even with Elizabeth's lessons in Occlumency, Harry was still having nightmares about Cedric's death.

"Andre's right," Hermione rationalized. "We should give them the best chance. If they want to join, it could benefit us."

"Join _what_?" Harry demanded.

Hermione glanced around and then leaned forward on the table, lowering her voice so only they could hear her. "I've been talking to Keyla and she said that she and Cygnus could teach us how to defend ourselves." She pointed at the parchment Harry still held. "That's a list of people they think are trustworthy."

"You want to start a club?" Ron said incredulously. "That's…" He frowned. "That's a good idea."

Harry looked between them, his gut twisting. "What are you on about?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me," he told Hermione.

"Oh, Harry wouldn't be doing anything," said Andre. "No offense, but your education has been severely lacking. You might be above average for a student here, but even compared to Addie, you're not very good in our standards."

Not for the first time, Harry wondered how bad it was in the future. It seemed like all of Ry's family had been trained for war from an early age.

"Harry has stood against You-Know-Who-" Ron began indignantly.

"Voldemort has become a shadow of himself. He's dangerous now because he's so stupidly arrogant," Andre said derisively.

Harry looked down uncomfortably. Even he would admit that he escaped Voldemort based on luck, not skill. He scowled at the list. "Half these people think I'm a nutter," he muttered. "They wouldn't want to be taught by me, anyway."

"Either way, we need to learn how to fight," said Hermione.

"But _Slytherins_?" Ron asked her.

"Yes," she insisted. "I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. Oh, don't be pathetic, Ron," she added as Ron visibly flinched. "It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

Ron threw his hands into the air and sank into his chair.

Smirking, Andre took back the list and informed them that his family would be contacting the majority of the people. Harry turned back to his homework, oddly grateful that he wouldn't be the one teaching the class. He couldn't handle any more stress at this point.

 **FoD**

"Are you ready?"

"Ye-"

Before Harry could complete the word, Elizabeth was inside his mind, and images flickered past his eyes. _He was five, watching Dudley riding a new red bicycle, and his heart was bursting with jealousy ... he was nine, and Ripper the bulldog was chasing him up a tree and the Dursleys were laughing below on the lawn ... he was sitting under the Sorting Hat, and it was telling him he would do well in Slytherin ..._

Harry had to force himself not to react to the last memory; until now, only Dumbledore had known that particular fact.

 _"Black! Is it true you were kicked out of your house?"_

 _The other boy turned, a haughty sneer curling his lips. "What do you want, Snivellus?" he said contemptuously._

 _"Nothing," Snape returned, smirking, "only to remind you that your duty now falls to your brother."_

 _Nostrils flaring, Sirius moved slowly and deliberately toward Snape. He did not bother to draw his wand, but instead pushed Snape against the wall, pressing close into his personal space. "_ Don't _talk about my brother," Sirius said with an animalistic growl._

 _Snape's lips turned up mockingly. "Then should we talk about your pet werewolf instead?"_

 _Suddenly Sirius punched him. Snape's head snapped to the side, and he touched his jaw gingerly, glaring at Sirius with hateful eyes._

 _"If you think he's a_ pet _," Sirius said in a shaking voice, "why don't you try pressing the knot on the Whomping Willow tonight?"_

Harry's lungs constricted, making it hard to breathe. He had never thought about what Snape had revealed that night in the Shrieking Shack.

"Weak," Elizabeth's voice said, seeming to float to him, and he tried to resist again as she presented another image.

 _Lifting a branch, Snape pushed the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow, and the limbs stopped moving long enough to reveal the passage underneath. A shout came from behind him, but he ignored the three boys running toward him from the castle. He did not notice that footsteps changed from pounding feet to the steady beat of hooves._

 _Snape had just entered the passage when a hand grabbed him by the back of the robes and yanked him out again. He landed on his back with a shout as James began pulling him away. They cleared the branches just as they activated again, and the werewolf that was cautiously approaching the entrance after hearing humans nearby leaped back with a snarl._

 _"I-I didn't think he'd actually do it," said Sirius, coming to a stop next to them._

 _"You saved him," squeaked Peter._

 _Snape picked himself up from the ground, brushing away James' helping hand. His face was tight, skin stretched into a snarl. "I don't want to owe a life-debt to_ you _," he spat._

 _James clenched his jaw. "Fine," he said shortly. "Next time I won't save your worthless life."_

Harry's pulse steadied and he could breathe easier again. Although he didn't like the idea of Sirius accidentally attempting murder, he enjoyed the small glimpse of his father, and the scene made a lot of sense from what he knew of Snape.

 _"It doesn't matter if you're a Potter," a voice murmured into his ear. "Yes, it is your destiny to undermine the order… James Sirius, the Supplanter, the Scorcher, you will set a new precedent in… SLYTHERIN!"_

A wave of coldness swept over Harry and he felt light-headed. He was not aware of sitting down, but suddenly he was looking up into the same bright blue eyes of the boy who had been gripping the stool with a white-knuckled grip as the hat declared his house.

"You," Harry gasped. "You're the reason I'm having those dreams."

Elizabeth inspected her nails, scratching the cuticles. There was a long pause before she responded, and when she spoke, it was in a flat voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Harry clenched his jaw. "I killed a rabbit," he gritted out.

"In a dream," she said blandly.

"Yes, but –"

"Then I don't see how it matters," she said dismissively.

"Snape –"

Even though he only got the one word out, Elizabeth guessed what he was going to ask.

"It was my brother's idea. He gave me some memories and told me to implant them in your mind." She paused. "There was a quote I once read that said, 'Our true character is revealed by normal, consistent behavior, not by rare acts of courage –'"

"I get the point," Harry interrupted. "You don't need to convince me that Snape is an awful person. But how did Ry get those memories?"

Elizabeth stared at him. "Legilimancy, of course. Ry got him angry and that lowered Snape's defenses."

With that glean of information, Harry suddenly understood that Ry was much more cunning than he expected. A knot formed in his belly as he mentally ran through everything that had happened. _Is there a reason for everything Ry does? Was that night in the forest planned, too?_ He wanted to ask Elizabeth, but he suspected that she wouldn't tell him even if she knew.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm not _completely_ heartless when it comes to Snape. Here's a story idea centered on him:

Snape re-do fic, but with a twist: He ends up with a different girl. Requirements: James/Lily. Snape still hates James, but James doesn't know why because Snape never antagonized him on the train. At one point, Snape thinks, _But I was nice this time. Why did she still choose him?_ (It's up to you if he ever gets out of the Nice Guy Syndrome.)

 **AN2:** The Cursed Child... I've heard that the stage direction is amazing. Props to you, John Tiffany. The writing, however, is awful. Shame on you, Jack Thorne. I think I wrote more complex characters when I was fourteen. I certainly had a better understanding of _Harry Potter_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

It was the doorbell ringing that drew Sirius out of bed. Reluctantly he opened his eyes, wondering why he felt like he was being squished slightly. He stared in confusion at the two identical boys that were flanking him, before shrugging and gently disentangling himself from the blankets and twins.

Downstairs he was met with Henri, who helped him silence the screaming portrait.

"I wasn't sure if I should open the door," Henri told him.

"Best not," Sirius agreed. "Why don't you start breakfast while I figure out which bastard decided to wake me up?"

Henri rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he went to the basement kitchen. For a moment Sirius watched him, wondering if he should comment on the dark bags beneath Henri's eyes. The doorbell rang insistently again, though, and with a sigh, Sirius went to answer it.

Pulling out his wand, Sirius slowly opened the door, and then gaped at the person who stood on the other side of it.

"Hello, cousin," Andromeda said. "I've certainly seen you looking better. Do you mind if I come in?"

Sirius blinked. "I don't think insulting me is the best method."

Dora poked her head around her mother. "She means well, I swear."

With a snort, Sirius stepped aside, providing a bigger gap through which they could walk. "Oh believe me, I know Andromeda. She meant that one."

"Indeed I did," Andromeda agreed as she passed him. "And don't you think that was a little too trusting? Nymphadora could be under Polyjuice, or I could be using the Imperius Curse on her."

"For one, a Metamorphmagus can't be Polyjuiced-"

"Pretty sure that's not a word," muttered Dora, distracted from glaring at her mother for using her full name.

"And secondly, I think I'd recognize the Imperius by now," Sirius finished.

Andromeda's expression darkened, and he knew she was remembering why he ran away in his fifth year. Sirius felt his skin tighten, and he shook away the memory of a phantom touch on his body. Other than James and Marlene, both of whom were now dead, Andromeda was his only friend to know the extent of the abuse he'd taken that night. Her husband, Ted, had been the one to fix him up before he went to the Potter house. Sirius hadn't been willing to let Mr. and Mrs. Potter see him in such a state.

Before they entered the kitchen, Andromeda put a hand on Sirius' arm. Dora looked back at them from the steps, but Andromeda waved her on.

Once her daughter was out of hearing range, Andromeda asked softly, "Were you ever able to get help? James said you dated quite a bit in school, but never got intimate with any of them."

Swallowing hard, he forced himself to not wave her concern away, as he had done so many times in his youth. Together with James, Marlene managed to patch up the wounds, both mental and physical, inflicted by Sirius' own family. Being back in this house, though, was undoing all of that mending.

"Yeah, my girlfriend, er, Marlene, she helped me a lot," Sirius responded in a weakened voice.

Her lips pressed together and he forced a smile.

"Great bloody Christmas, wasn't it?" Sirius said lightly.

"Bloody indeed," Andromeda murmured, and he let out a laugh with an edge to it, because he didn't know how else to react.

Together they took the steps down to the kitchen, where they found Dora pressing Henri for information. He was leaning away from her, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"It's misleading," Dora was saying. "I mean, there's no problem if you _are_ gay, but why keep it purple if you aren't? I'm just curious, is all."

Henri pulled on a strand of his hair, which was its standard light purple color. "It's in support of my cousin," he said, and gave a hard shake of his head, turning his hair to a sandy brown. "He came out a few years ago, and it just became a habit to do this, kind of like how my sister – Mel – she… Her hair was green because her friend had lymphoma cancer."

His voice had broken at the end, and he looked down, avoiding Dora's gaze. For her part, she looked extremely regretful for bringing up the subject.

Andromeda cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her. Henri's brows furrowed and then quickly released, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, I can certainly see the resemblance to Remus," said Andromeda.

"I always said Remus would look young if it weren't for those damn scars," Sirius agreed, following his cousin's lead in distracting Henri.

"Personally, I think it's his freckles that really do it," another voice interjected.

Sirius jumped and spun around. "Morgana's tits, Remus! I've lost enough years of my life. You can't do that to a man."

Remus arched one eyebrow and glanced at Dora, who somehow immediately understood his silent question.

"They bring out the worst in each other," she explained, jerking her head toward Sirius and Andromeda. "James always egged them on, though. He found it hilarious."

"You remember that?" Sirius said, surprised. He'd sometimes brought James with him when he'd gone to visit Andromeda's family.

"Oh, yeah, I thought you were a couple," Dora said with a nostalgic smile. "I was really confused when he talked about Harry." Then she deflated. "He said he'd take me trick-or-treating with them, but Mum wouldn't allow it and…"

Her voice trailed off, and Sirius' throat was thick with remorse. That had only been about a month before the Potter family went into hiding.

"Of course I didn't," Andromeda said shortly. "You were only eight and not able to protect yourself if my psychotic sister chose to attack you."

"Her excuse for everything," muttered Dora to Henri, whose lips twitched.

"To be fair, Bellatrix was the one to kill you."

Remus, who had grabbed the teapot to make himself a cup, suddenly dropped it, spilling tea everywhere. The clattering barely covered up Andromeda's sharp gasp; Sirius winced as her nails dug into his arm. Dora had done a double-take, her mouth falling open.

"That's definitely a Black trait," Sirius said with forced levity. "Foot in mouth syndrome, I believe it's called. Welcome to the family, kid."

 **FoD**

After a tense lunch, in which Henri kept shooting glances toward Andromeda and her gaze hardly strayed from him, Sirius found himself being dragged by Annie to the drawing room, which had been turned into the children's play area. She and Camellia forced both him and the twins into playing a princess game, complete with crowns and scepters.

Sirius examined himself in the mirror he had conjured. "What do you say, boys? Do I look like a pretty princess?"

"No, you look weird," said Josh.

Beside him, Logan was scowling and trying to pull off the crown, which had gotten tangled in his hair. Camellia swatted his hands away, and after one more attempt, he desisted underneath her glare. Sirius bit back a smile.

"I, for one, think you make a dashing damsel in distress, Sirius," Remus said from the doorway. He was making no effort to conceal his amusement.

Sirius turned to him and cried, "Ah, my prince! Have you come to rescue me?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Remus answered wryly and then turned to address the children. "Do you lot mind if I borrow him for a moment? I'll return him right back to you."

Camellia, who seemed to be setting up a tea-party, waved a hand in acknowledgement, but Annie said, "Only if he can be our puppy later."

"Deal," Remus promised immediately, and shot Sirius a look when Sirius opened his mouth in protest.

Together they went up to the bedroom Remus stayed in when he visited. Sirius, who had hardly ever been in the room, raised his eyebrows when he noticed that the room was still extremely sparse. He was more curious, however, about Remus, who bore an extremely nervous look now that they were alone.

Remus closed his eyes and took a calming breath before speaking.

"Andromeda just, ah, lectured me, and said that I need to sort out my feelings before I dare to pursue her daughter."

"Okay?" Sirius said uncertainly.

Avoiding Sirius' gaze, Remus fidgeted, smoothing down his rumpled clothes. "Do you remember that party we had before we graduated?"

"Er, to be honest, not really," Sirius admitted. "I was pretty drunk and…" His eyes widened. "Oh. We got dared to kiss. _Oh_. You mean _me_."

Remus laughed shakily. "Silly, isn't it? One kiss and it was enough to make me question my sexuality."

"No, Moony, no." Sirius shook his head. "It's not stupid or anything. I'm just surprised." He paused and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Do you still like me that way?"

Remus glanced at him sidelong. "I don't know. Do you mind if I try…?"

After a moment, Sirius closed his eyes, waiting expectantly. Chapped lips gently pressed against his own. Marlene's lips were always chapped from her biting them too much, but she was a proud member of the 'Lustrous Hair unlike James Potter' club. Sirius raised one hand to play with the soft strands. Stark reality hit him like a bucket of cold water when his hand met short hair instead.

Remus slowly pulled back.

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be crying," he said quietly.

Sirius wiped at his tears. "Sorry. It's not because of you–"

"I know," Remus cut him off, but his tone was gentle and understanding, and that was somehow even worse. "Thanks, though. I can definitely say there is no attraction anymore." He tried for a smile, small but definitely there. "Might be that the princess get-up doesn't do it for me."

Sirius laughed, perhaps too loud and perhaps too long, but it was the only way he knew to get through his life.

 **FoD**

Harry kept his head down during Potions class, trying desperately to piece together all of the information. The memories he'd seen about Snape were giving him more questions than answers. He didn't understand why Ry insisted on Elizabeth implanting them when Harry couldn't learn anything from them. Having been working so distracted, he wasn't surprised when the viscosity of the potion was too thick, nor that Snape vanished the contents from Harry's cauldron and gave him zero points. With a sigh, Harry packed up his supplies.

"Potter, stay behind!" Snape bellowed.

Grimacing, Harry waved Ron and Hermione on without him and headed up to the front of the class.

"Look at me," Snape ordered.

Harry raised his gaze to a point over Snape's shoulder.

"Look at me, Potter!"

Reluctantly, Harry looked into eyes that were such a dark brown they were nearly black. Immediately he felt the probe of Legilimency. It wasn't like the gentle intrusion of Elizabeth, but a full frontal attack. Harry's first reaction was to recoil, but then he remembered Elizabeth's lessons and forced himself past the emotion. Snape had barely started tugging an image forward when Harry shoved him out of his mind.

It was quite comical to see Snape topple out of his seat, and though Harry bit his lip, a snicker still escaped.

As Snape rose from the floor, he gave Harry an intense, fevered stare. Eyes widening in fear, Harry began to back away, but Snape jerked forward over the desk and wrenched Harry's arm to stop him from leaving. Lips stretched into an animalistic snarl, Snape demanded, "How do you know Occlumency?"

"Let me go," Harry said quietly.

"Was it one of _them_?" spat Snape.

Harry reached for his wand, and Snape caught the movement. With another snarl, Snape threw Harry from him, and Harry would have fallen if not for the desk into which he staggered and gripped for balance. There was a roaring sound in Harry's ears when he looked up at Snape.

"Some friend you are. No wonder my mum hated you."

As Snape flushed with rage, Harry noted absently that Snape looked like a snake with his mottled skin.

"OUT!" Snape screamed.

Harry was quick to obey, storming past Ron and Hermione who were waiting for him outside the door.

 **FoD**

Daphne gave Ry an odd look when he sat next to her in Charms, but said nothing. On her other side, Tracey Davis was watching him carefully, and Blaise Zabini, who normally affected boredom, had gone rigid, especially when Alphard took the seat at the table behind them. Their year of Slytherins was an uneven number, with only eleven people including Ry and Alphard, and so there was no one else at Alphard's table to notice him subtly putting up a privacy ward. The noise and general activity in the Charms classroom helped to hide his spell, too.

"We have the upper number," said Daphne quietly.

Ry didn't look at her as he silenced his croaking frog with an easy swipe of his wand. "We're not going to attack you," he replied. "We just want to talk."

Her green eyes, identical to his own in color, narrowed suspiciously. She glanced at her friends before looking back at him again. Uncertainty bled into his mind. Despite his family agreeing that she could be trusted, he couldn't deny that there was a possibility she wouldn't agree to his offer.

"I know you don't agree with the Death Eater cause," Ry murmured.

"That much is obvious," she stated. "I believe you were there that day in Potions class."

His lips twitched, but he resisted the smile. "Exactly. While you hang around Malfoy's group, you are not a part of it. You're definitely a purist, but you know strength when you see it."

Daphne tilted her head, smirking in a condescending manner. "And you think you have that strength?"

Ry met her eyes directly. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the _phlehsi_?"

 **FoD**

The first meeting for defense lessons was shocking. Harry didn't know how Ry's family had gained enough credibility to have invited so many people; he didn't recognize quite a few of them himself. He exchanged an uneasy look with Ron and Hermione as Cygnus strode toward them.

"I was thinking we'd begin with the basics – and not that crap Umbridge is teaching us, but the standard dueling procedure–"

"Hold on," Hermione interrupted him, "isn't that a first-year?"

Cygnus glanced to the corner of the room she had indicated and then did a double-take. On following his gaze, Harry saw Orion and Nick standing with two girls, one of them blonde and the other with red hair.

"Oh no," Cygnus muttered, "I really hope…"

When he trailed off, Hermione prompted him, "What?"

Looking slightly sickened, Cygnus said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's Rose Zeller. If Orion's taken a liking to her… That's even more of an Oedipus complex than the one Great Uncle Harry had." He paused. "Wait, no. Nothing can beat that one. He married the female version of his father who had red hair like his mother."

Harry winced when both Ron and Hermione looked toward him. "I don't like her _now_ ," he muttered defensively.

"I've been wondering about that, actually," said Hermione, turning back to Cygnus. "The implications this could have for the future… You've changed so _much_ …"

Cygnus flapped a hand dismissively. "Oh, that? Doesn't matter."

"But when you go back–"

"Haven't you realized it yet?" Elizabeth asked from nearby them, where she was showing Addie's friend, Morgan Zabini, how to use the Foe-Glass. "We're not going back. This _is_ our future."

There was an unnatural silence. Harry's heart raced, nearly exploding out of his chest it pounded so hard. Time had slowed down, or maybe everything was moving too quickly for him to process.

Then out of the quiet came a shrill scream. Dimly, Harry recognized the sound of laughter, as if people weren't aware of the dooming words Elizabeth had just spoken.

Cygnus rolled his eyes. "Orion, come on. It's just a spider," he called to his younger brother.

"It's not _just_ a spider," Orion yelled from his perch on a chair. "It's a fucking _huge_ spider!"

"There's no need to be a crybaby about it," said Cygnus.

"Bugger off, you bloody sod!"

"Definitely related to Ron," muttered Ginny, but only a few people heard it.

As Cygnus went to rescue his brother from the spider someone had released from a jar on the shelves, Hermione turned to Elizabeth, her face ashen. "Is… Is that true?"

"Morgan, why don't you bother your brother?" Elizabeth said to Addie's friend, who looked at her momentarily, nonplussed, before striding toward where a trio of Slytherins stood.

Once Morgan was out of hearing range, Elizabeth faced Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but her mouth had barely opened before Cygnus shouted for their attention. He stood atop a long platform and was looking at them with a warning in his eyes. Harry clenched his jaw in frustration.

"Today we'll be talking about dueling," Cygnus began, ignoring Harry's glare. "I've been told that you've been introduced to the practice before, but as we all know, Lockhart isn't the most reliable of people." He paused as there were a few appreciative chuckles. "He taught you the formal procedure. In the real world, though, you wouldn't bow before engaging in a duel with a Death Eater. It's all about instinct and survival there, no silly wand-waving."

A few people shifted uncomfortably, but to Harry's surprise, none of them tried to protest Cygnus' words. He supposed that was why they had been invited to the meeting.

"Keyla and I will give you a demonstration of what it means to duel to the death." Cygnus gave an easy smile as he added, "Of course, neither of us will die. Keyla, if you would."

She shot a Stinging Hex at him even as she climbed up the steps onto the platform. Ernie Macmillan let out a shout as Cygnus dodged it, but the spell only collided with a barrier that shimmered for a moment before disappearing again. Harry's nerve endings tingled as he watched the ensuing battle. Keyla and Cygnus moved quickly, flinging both Light and Dark spells at each other. Sometimes they didn't even speak aloud.

 _This,_ Harry thought with a bit of jealousy. _This is what it means to_ fight.

Watching the pair moving with such ease, Harry realized that Andre was right. Harry would be woefully inadequate as a teacher. _I can't keep relying on the Disarming Charm,_ he told himself as Keyla used a tickling spell on Cygnus and he retaliated by making her legs dance. Both had used simple spells that a first-year would know. _There are other ways to beat an opponent without killing him._

 **FoD**

"HE DID WHAT?" Sirius roared.

Harry winced and ducked his head. When he called Sirius about the Defense Club, he hadn't meant to mention the incident with Snape, but then Sirius had asked about his classes and it all just seemed to pour out of Harry. There was no way to hide from those piercing gray eyes.

"Sirius, please," he begged.

Mid-rant, Sirius broke off, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before looking at Harry again. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said quietly. "I just – " He scraped a hand over his face. "I don't really know how to be a father, do I?"

Startled, Harry looked at his godfather, who was smiling gently, if a bit sadly, at him. Something warm unfurled in Harry's chest.

"All of this seemed to come naturally to James," Sirius continued. "Of course, then you were just a baby, but he never even complained when you woke him during the night…"

He trailed off, his gaze unfocused as he recalled the memories.

"Really?" Harry pressed, and Sirius roused himself again.

"Oh yeah, you had him wrapped around your little pinky. He cried more than you in the beginning and dressed you up in all of these ridiculous outfits because you were the _cutest_ thing to have ever graced the Earth." Sirius smiled slightly before his expression fell again. "I was heading to the house that night because Lily wanted to give you the semblance of a Halloween party, but then I went to pick up Peter and…"

Once again, he was unable to finish his sentence.

"You don't have to tell me," Harry said quickly.

"Not now," Sirius agreed gratefully, "but I will sometime in the future."

A tingling feeling swept through Harry's limbs. "I'd like that."

"It's a deal, then. Or rather a promise. But that brings us to something else." Sirius met Harry's eyes, alert and intent, and it was so very different from the way Snape looked at him. "I want you to decide what I am to you, Harry."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Our relationship, Harry. Do you just want me to be your godfather? Your father, even if I'll probably royally fuck it up? That quirky uncle you don't tell anyone about – no, I'm already that one." Sirius grumbled the last part to himself.

It was a wonder that Sirius couldn't hear Harry's rapid heartbeat.

"I'd prefer to tell people about you than Uncle Vernon," said Harry.

"Which would land you in the _Daily Prophet_ again, and you're avoiding the question," Sirius returned easily, although Harry wondered if he imagined how Sirius' expression tightened for a moment. "I don't expect an answer right now, Harry. Just think about it."

Looking down, unable to meet Sirius' eyes, Harry couldn't find any words to respond. His thoughts were too muddied. At the same time, even though his face felt impossibly hot, Harry's heart felt full, and the emotion got clogged in his throat. Overwhelmed, he could only give a silent nod.

"Good," Sirius said shortly. "Then now we have to figure out why Snape tried to invade your mind in the first place." He scowled. "I swear if it was at Dumbledore's instruction then I'll kill them both."

Harry swallowed. "Please don't. I only just got you back, Sirius."

Sirius' features softened as he said, "I don't plan on ever leaving you again, Harry."

An odd fluttering feeling took place in Harry's stomach, and it took him a moment to identify it. _Love,_ he realized. _This is what it feels like to love and be loved._

 **FoD**

"Wake _up_ , dammit!" Ron insisted, whacking Harry's shoulder.

Rolling over, Harry groaned and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He'd thought the strange dreams would stop after he confronted Elizabeth, but apparently the memories still lingered in his subconscious.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. _Memories? They're just dreams, you idiot._

At least, he couldn't recall ever seeing Dumbledore so young, not even in a picture.

With slow movements, Harry got dressed and followed Ron down to breakfast, where Hermione was quick to join them after departing from Juliet. Alphard and Caelum sat nearby them, and it took Harry a moment to realize that the two cousins were arguing.

"She wasn't even supposed to be there," Alphard insisted.

"I _know_ ," Caelum said, sounding like he was repeating himself. "Her name wasn't on the list, and she had to be explicitly invited by a member of the family to even enter the room. All of us wouldn't do that, and the younger kids know not to go against Cygnus. What I don't know is _how_ she got in."

Harry's scalp prickled. After his dreams about Dumbledore, everything was making him feel on edge, but ever since his conversation with Elizabeth, he had also been wary of Ry. He glanced uncomfortably toward Ry, who was sitting with Elizabeth and Addie this morning.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked the cousins.

Alphard and Caelum turned toward her as one. They exchanged a look.

"Ginny," Caelum answered at last. "She wasn't supposed to be a part of the club."

"What's wrong with my sister?" demanded Ron, his ears quickly flushing with anger.

"Lots of things," muttered Alphard, but Caelum quickly made a sharp gesture, indicating for him to be quiet.

Hermione bit her lip. "Er, I invited her," she said. "I thought you'd forgotten to include her."

Caelum frowned. "Well, there's a loophole we didn't think of. Technically you're part of the family."

"Ginny –" Ron started again.

"Leave it, Weasley," Alphard said harshly, shoving back from the table, and his tone was so aggressive that Ron's mouth snapped closed.

As his cousin stalked toward the Slytherin table, Caelum's mouth opened and closed. Finally, with a sigh, he grabbed his bag and followed Alphard after mumbling an apology, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione to stare after them in confusion.

"They're hiding something," Harry announced.

"Definitely," Hermione agreed, "and I'm fairly certain it's about Ry."

Ron crossed his arms. "So what're we going to do about it?" he asked, sounding resigned.

Harry looked at his two best friends. Ron groaned at the same time Hermione let out a tiny sigh.


	10. Interlude 2

**Disclaimer:** **If I were JKR, would the _Cursed Child_ exist?**

 ** _2020_**

"Look at that," murmured Lily.

Following her gaze, Al spotted his Uncle Ron and Mr. Malfoy speaking cordially together, though both of them held their bodies stiffly. Several other adults stood with them, including Mr. and Mrs. Black. They were mostly gathered around one boy, whose mop of black hair was easily distinguishable.

With an ache in the back of his throat, Al noticed Mr. Black's hand on top of James' shoulder. Al had to focus his thoughts to keep from walking over and pulling James away from the Black family. _He's_ my _brother,_ Al wanted to scream, but he couldn't without drawing the attention of everyone else on the platform. Turmoil built inside him once again. He knew this was best for James, but that didn't mean he had to like the situation.

As if feeling their gazes, James glanced over his shoulder at them. He smiled, wide and confident, and tilted his head in the direction of the train. Al nodded and signaled for Lily to follow him. She did so reluctantly, her eyes filled with concern as she looked back at James. Both she and Al knew not to believe the face James showed to the public. Once they had found a compartment and stored their trunks, Lily settled into a seat by the window, her chin propped on her fist as she watched the gathering on the platform.

Soon they saw James detach from the group and head toward the train. Al shifted restlessly, time seeming to pass slowly as they waited for James to arrive.

"I'm changing my name," Al blurted out as soon as the door opened.

James blinked. "Okay…" he said slowly. "I was expecting something more like, 'Hi, James, we missed you so much.'"

" _I_ missed you," Lily declared, standing to hug him. She then pulled him down into the seat next to her and they both gave Al pointed looks.

Al glanced at his brother and then quickly looked away again. Of the two of them, Al knew his brother had it worse. James was the accident that ruined their mother's Quidditch career and turned her from a strong, independent woman to a meek wife. A burden like that was incomparable to an unfortunate name. At least Al could change his name, as he planned to do when he came of age.

"Uncle Neville told me," Al mumbled. "About Snape, I mean."

There was a long beat of silence in which Al forced himself to remain still. After a moment, Lily looked at James, her brow wrinkled.

 _Merlin, we really do depend on him,_ Al realized, his stomach clenching at the thought. Because of him and Lily, James suffered from even more pressure.

"Al," said James softly, almost pityingly, and Al whipped his head up to see his brother's sympathetic gaze.

"You knew?" he demanded.

James nodded slowly. "I found out in my first year, when I was sorted into Slytherin. Snape doesn't have a good reputation there. A lot of them blame him for their families becoming Death Eaters."

"Don't forget all of the students he let get tortured," murmured Lily. "I don't buy that crap about there being 'no other way.'"

The last part mocked their father's words, used during his and Al's argument the same day James had left. Al hadn't known Lily had heard it. He couldn't contain a grimace.

"Yeah, well, I'm thinking about changing my name now."

"To what?" James asked.

"I don't know," Al admitted. "Neville? Rubeus? Anything's better than Severus."

"Maybe you could talk to Aunt Hermione about it," Lily said thoughtfully. "It's not really the same since she only uses Granger professionally, but she probably knows all about the paperwork."

James nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea," he agreed, and then added darkly, "She'd keep it a secret from Dad, too."

Al sensed there was more to that last statement, but before he could question his brother, the door was opened again to reveal a bespectacled girl standing there. Her normally tame hair was frizzy like she'd been anxiously twisting it again, and it made her look even more like a red-haired, freckled version of Aunt Hermione.

"There you are," said Rose, sounding very relieved. "I thought you might've missed the train."

Then she looked over her shoulder.

"I found them, Scorp!" she called.

"I told you not to panic," said Scorpius, trailing up to their compartment. "James wouldn't leave anyone behind."

James smiled in welcome at the pair. "Sorry, Rosie," he said. "I didn't think to tell everyone that I'd seen Al and Lily."

She sighed with exaggeration as she threw herself into the seat beside Al.

"Well, you should've."

"Brilliant comeback," said Scorpius, nodding.

She glared at him. "Shut it, Malfoy, or I'll tell my dad we're dating."

He mimed zipping his lips closed, his dark blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

Lily leaned forward, quirking an eyebrow and smiling. Al stared at the single eyebrow with jealousy as she asked, "So you're officially dating?"

"We're _just_ dating," said Rose. "Not _dating_ -dating."

Biting his lip, Al wondered how he should broach that topic, but his brother had no such issue.

"Like friends with benefits?" James asked, frowning.

"No. _Just_ dating," Rose stressed again, looking annoyed that none of them could understand.

Scorpius only shrugged when all three Potter siblings looked at him.

For the remainder of the trip to Hogwarts, Al was mostly silent. Rose pulled out her copy of _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_ and he did his best to tune her out as she read it aloud to them. Scorpius covered his ears when she reached the part where his character was introduced.

"I'm so embarrassing," he moaned.

"Yes, you are," said Rose, patting his shoulder. "But at least you understand social cues, unlike this guy."

"Scorpius isn't so bad in that story," said Lily. "It's _Al_ who's super annoying."

Al grit his teeth at the reminder of what James called his 'alter ego'. He still didn't understand why his father had endorsed the play. It wasn't like they were lacking for money.

"It got one thing right, though," James mused. "Al would've died in Slytherin."

"Don't forget Dad's favoritism," muttered Al.

That one had taken a long time to admit to himself, and he didn't even notice it until Violet pointed it out in her nonchalant way. She thought that parents with marital problems often subconsciously favored children who were the most likely to reproduce. In this case, she had told Al, it was him and Lily. He wasn't sure if he believed her theory, but it almost made sense, considering James' situation.

"Where's Violet?" Al asked, now reminded of Rose's best friend.

"She's sitting with her Ravenclaw friends," Rose answered. "Why?"

He felt a flush creeping across his cheeks. "No reason," he said quickly. "Just wondering, that's all."

She gazed at him with an uncomfortable amount of focus for a long moment. To his eternal relief, she didn't press further. Unfortunately, she did continue reading the script, seeming to enjoy all of their suffering, and any gratefulness Al had felt was swept aside.

 **FoD**

Sunshine glittered off the surface of the lake. Normally students could be found lying in the grass beside the water, but since the castle was still empty, the grounds were strangely quiet. Hermione wished she could enjoy the moment of peace before the students arrived. Instead, she turned from the window to face the sad figure seated in front of Hermione's desk. Never in her time as Headmistress did Hermione think this particular conversation would be necessary.

"Why isn't Harry with you?" asked Hermione a bit harshly.

Ginny sank back into her chair and stared expressionlessly down at her clasped hands.

"He went to work," she answered tonelessly.

Hermione pressed her lips together. It might have been her imagination, but Ginny's vibrant red hair appeared duller and her eyes looked tired. _Signs of premature aging,_ her mind told her, _can also indicate depression._ Hermione had done a lot of research on the subject in recent years.

Moving slowly, Hermione sat down across from Ginny. She could feel Phineas Nigellus' gaze fixed on them, although he, like the other portraits, remained silent. Ginny's eyes flicked over them, obviously noting that Snape's portrait was missing. She looked at Hermione in askance.

"He got irritating," Hermione said shortly.

Ginny frowned. "What did James do this time?" she asked warily.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. " _Al_ insisted on the removal when he found out the truth about Snape." She paused and deliberately met Ginny's eyes. "Why do you always blame James?"

With a flinch, Ginny averted her gaze. For a long moment, she was unnaturally still and quiet. Then, finally, she let out a long exhale before speaking.

"Harry fell apart after the war, and you and Ron were in Australia, and I was the person who had to pick up the pieces," she said quietly. "I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted him to be happy, that he _deserved_ to be happy, and if I had to sacrifice my own happiness… well, what did it matter?"

Hermione's chest tightened, but she shoved aside her own guilt and pity. "We're talking about James, not Harry."

"I'm getting there," Ginny said a bit tersely, and Hermione was relieved to see that there still remained some vitality inside her sister-in-law. "Anyway, we both know how much Harry wanted a family, and even though I loved playing Quidditch, I wanted Harry to be happy."

She squeezed her eyes shut and her voice lost power as she whispered, "It was the worst feeling in the world, to resent my own son's birth."

Although she had been trying to listen without judgement, Hermione was bothered by the last admittance. Before she could come up with an appropriate response, however, Ginny opened her eyes again and continued.

"It only grew worse from there. Al was born only fifteen months later. I wanted to name him Brian Arthur – it's a nice name, don't you think? – but Harry insisted on the name Albus Severus, and…" She lifted one shoulder in a shrug and forced a bitter laugh. "Well, you know what happened then."

"James' eyes were brown," said Hermione quietly.

"And he looked like Tom Riddle," Ginny agreed. "One boy was a manifestation of Harry's fears. The other one represented Harry's redemption." She let out a shuddering breath and shook her head. "It was the most amazing magic I've ever seen, when James turned his eyes blue… But do you realize the implications of it, Hermione? How _powerful_ he is to even manage it?"

"It is incredible," Hermione allowed, "but he _isn't_ Tom Riddle. He's nothing like Voldemort."

Ginny's brows drew closer and she looked down again. Her fists were slightly clenched in her lap. As a slight heaviness settled in Hermione's stomach, Ginny drew in another breath and then released it, but said nothing more. It was unnecessary.

Hermione closed her eyes as she envisioned James: a boy full of quiet resentment and talented at deception. By their own doing, Harry and Ginny had created their worst fear, and now they couldn't even look at their own son without seeing Tom Riddle.

* * *

 **AN:** Story idea: Post-war fic set in 1998-1999 where the students are returning to school. Who are their teachers? What's Slytherin like now? Have the classes changed? _Requirements:_ Main character is an OC (or not anyone from the main cast) who's just a regular kid trying to get through school.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

"Obsidian?" Hermione repeated thoughtfully.

Recalling the amulet he'd seen Caelum put on that night, Harry nodded. "I don't know what it does, but it's something important."

"The Mirror Stone…" she murmured to herself. Then suddenly she pushed up from the table and instructed, "Wait here."

Harry shared a look with Ron, who raised his eyebrows, and then they both snickered.

Only a few minutes later Hermione returned with a book in her hands. It was a thick tome cracked and dry with age, and Harry was surprised the librarian even allowed them to touch it. When Hermione opened the book, the pages inside were brittle. She carefully flipped to the page for which she was looking.

"This," Hermione said, pointing. " _Obsidian is known as the Mirror Stone. This does not mean that it shows a person's faults, as many assume_ , _but that it can be used as a protection against other magic. For that reason, it is used in many rituals–_ "

"Rituals?" Ron interrupted, alarmed. "Just what're we talking about here?"

"I don't think it's necessarily Dark Magic," said Hermione, silently reading the rest of the text. "Like everything else, it has a good and bad side. Although it _is_ often used in bloodletting…"

Harry scuffed his chair closer to the table. "Bloodletting? Like what Voldemort did to me when he resurrected?"

Beside Harry, Ron winced at the name, but then he firmed his shoulders, his expression exuding calm and focus. Harry suppressed a smile when Hermione looked at Ron almost approvingly. Then her attention returned to Harry, rapt and eyes glowing.

"I think that might be it exactly," she whispered in a hushed, excitable tone. "Harry, I think… This is about _death_."

Suddenly Harry found it hard to breathe. His stomach rolled, and there was a sour taste in his mouth. _She shouldn't look so happy about that._

Hermione seemed to read his mind. "I don't mean it like that," she admonished, and Ron leaped to her defense.

"Yeah mate, you know how annoying – er, excited she gets when she learns something new."

" _Thank you_ , Ronald," Hermione said bitingly, and he wilted underneath her glare, a flush overcoming his face as he muttered an unintelligible apology.

Harry smiled weakly. "Yeah, I know. It's just…" He looked down at the book between them and sighed. "I'm worried. What if… What if Ry is…"

He struggled to put his thoughts into words. Ever since that night in the forest, he had been worrying about what he would have seen if Ronan hadn't stopped him. Images of what it could have been flashed through his mind, and most of them involved blood, death, and ghosts.

"I doubt it's like that, Harry," Hermione assured him.

"Yeah, Ry seems like a good kid," added Ron. "Discounting all of that shit he does to Snape, of course, but I think we can all understand that."

"I almost pity him – Snape, I mean," Harry admitted. "He's up against so many people, and Ry's family hasn't exactly been merciful."

Ron waved his concern away. "He's a _Death Eater_ , Harry. Or used to be one. But if he abuses his power as a teacher, what do you think he did as a Death Eater?"

It was, quite possibly, the most logical thing Ron had ever said, and even Hermione, who was usually more collected in her surprise, openly gaped at him. He blushed and fidgeted under their gazes.

"What?" he demanded defensively.

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, recovering herself again. "Ron's right though, Harry. You can pity Snape, but don't sympathize with him. That means you agree with everything he's done, but – but there's some things you just can't forgive."

Averting his gaze from them, Harry thought of all the memories Elizabeth had shown him of Snape, and how Snape continued to bully and belittle his own students. Silently, he acknowledged that Ron and Hermione were right. Snape wasn't exactly a monster, but he certainly wasn't a good man worth any respect, having made his own choices.

 **~FoD~**

"I can't believe you're making me do this," Alphard hissed.

Both Ry and Caelum ignored him. All three of them were crouched inside the wardrobe in the staffroom with the Invisibility Cloak draped over them for extra protection.

"Are you sure we won't be seen?" Caelum murmured to Ry.

"Yeah, Dad said he removed all the spells Dumbledore put on it," Ry replied, and then added wryly, "Don't worry, Death is protecting us."

Alphard let out a soft huff, but he didn't speak again as the teachers walked into the room. Dumbledore sat at the head of the long table. Once everyone was settled in their seats, he rapped the table for their attention, and they settled at once.

"We shall start with our exchange students," he said. "Minerva, how do they fare in your house?"

Professor McGonagall launched into a description, lingering on her concern for Andre, who didn't seem to care about putting any effort into his work. The other teachers voiced the same for their own classes, except for Snape who spat that Andre was lazy and stupid. Hidden inside the wardrobe, Alphard's hands clenched, and Caelum gripped his cousin's arm tightly.

"Ms. Potter is exceptional," Professor Flitwick piped up.

"I haven't had any issues with her," Umbridge said grudgingly when it came to her turn. "She does all of the readings."

 _If you saw all of the markings in her book, you wouldn't be so pleased,_ Ry thought with a smirk.

Dumbledore clasped his hands together. "And what about our new Slytherin students, Severus?"

"Their attitudes are atrocious and they seem to enjoy provoking me."

"That's not very hard to do," McGonagall muttered under her breath, but it was so clear that even Ry, Caelum, and Alphard heard it, and Ry had to cover his mouth to contain a snicker.

Snape glared at her before continuing. "As for their academic work, they seem competent enough in brewing potions."

"Both Keyla and Alphard Black are naturals at Transfiguration," said McGonagall with a touch of pride. "They are almost as good as Daniel Potter, who actually reminds me quite a bit of James Potter. If it were not for Juliet Malfoy tempering him, I fear he would be even more rambunctious."

Snape made a sound of derision.

"Addie Black has a gift for Charms I have not seen since Lily Potter," Flitwick added.

This time Snape clenched his jaw.

The meeting continued on to other students, and Ry soon lost interest. Caelum was already slumped against the back wall of the wardrobe with his eyes closed, and Ry had to nudge both him and Alphard several times so their snoring wouldn't alert the teachers to their presence.

In the end, however, Ry crawled out of the wardrobe unhindered and eyed the empty room with a pleased expression; not once had any of the staff indicated any awareness of them during the meeting. He raised his eyebrows at Alphard, who made a point of covering his mouth while yawning.

"I told you so," said Ry smugly.

 **~FoD~**

Sirius would be lying if he said he wasn't anxious when Henri demanded a meeting with him and Remus. Henri wore a grave expression as they joined him in the sitting room, and Sirius felt a fluttery, empty feeling in his stomach. When Henri spoke, it was slowly, his words chosen deliberately.

"What do you know of Horcuxes?"

A sour taste filled Sirius' mouth. He didn't want to think of his brother's sacrifice.

"Nothing, other than what you've told us," answered Remus.

Henri looked toward Sirius, who paused a moment before speaking, taking time to think. "I remembered my father mentioning them once," Sirius said quietly. "They're some of the Darkest magic. Even the average Black, who has no qualms about murder, wouldn't create one due to the cost on the soul." He hesitated again. "I tried to do more research about them, but none of the books here talked about it."

Remus glanced at him in surprise, which rankled Sirius. Contrary to what Remus thought, Sirius was fully capable of using the library, as proven when they went through the Animagus transformations.

"It's likely that Dumbledore removed the books, if they were here at all," said Henri. "He started suspecting Riddle of making them after Grandpa's second year. What he doesn't know – at least at this point – is that Riddle made seven of them."

"Seven?" gasped Remus.

Henri nodded, his own nose wrinkling. "Horcuxes aren't just evil because the person commits murder. It's taking a person's life with the intent of using it for your own gain. _That's_ what damages the soul. Dumbledore only nearly escaped it when he indirectly caused Grandpa's first death."

For a moment, Sirius couldn't speak. His heartbeat raced in his chest, nearly exploding. " _First_ death?" he repeated in a whisper.

Henri's gaze was cold. "According to Dumbledore, it was the only way to kill Voldemort. But the prophecy?" He snorted. "It's deliberately confusing and utter hogwash."

Startled, Sirius narrowed his eyes at him. "You know it?"

Henri's eyes took on a glazed look as he recited, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

There was absolute stillness. Even Sirius' own breath seemed to die as soon as it left his mouth. Into that silence, Remus inserted the voice of reason.

"That doesn't make sense," said Remus, his brow furrowed. "I know Edgar Bones' niece, Susan, was born two months early, at around thirty weeks. Remember that, Sirius? Edgar's family was really worried about her. What if there's a boy like that in Harry's year, too? And how do we know the person has to be in Harry's age group? And what does the mark-"

Henri held a hand up, stopping Remus' flow of thought. "Exactly. There's too many loopholes. Or rather plot holes, to a set story Dumbledore wants enacted." His expression hardened. "I intend to make sure that story doesn't happen."

 **~FoD~**

It took quite a bit of time to find the hovel in Little Hangleton, and they only knew it was the old Gaunt residence because Remus had visited the pub to question the locals. The house was little more than a shack. Sirius, who had once lived in caves, was the only one not bothered by its appearance.

He was, however, bothered by the portly body he currently inhabited. "I feel like the rat," he huffed, winded by the walk. "Where did you get the Polyjuice, anyway?"

In answer, Henri patted the mokeskin pouch he always wore.

"Come on, Sirius," Remus said, quickening his pace. "I don't want to leave Dora alone with the kids for too long. She might corrupt them."

 _Since when have you called her Dora?_ Sirius wondered, but didn't ask. Instead, he retorted, "Easy for you to say. How does it feel to be a teenager again?"

"Itchy," Remus responded distractedly, scratching at his acne. "Look, here's the dirt track that Muggle mentioned."

They followed the path until Sirius suddenly stopped, shivering. Both Remus and Henri turned to look at him curiously.

"Dark magic," Sirius muttered, an uneasy feeling crawling into the pit of his stomach. "The air is thick with it. Can't you feel it?"

Remus shook his head, but Henri paused, tilting his head to the side. Then Henri blanched, his shoulders rolling as if to shake off the discomfort.

"What is it?" asked Remus, concerned.

"Nothing," Henri muttered, slowly moving forward again.

"Wait!" Sirius grabbed Henri, jerking him to a stop as Sirius' senses identified the spells around them. "There's a bunch of curses here. You might trip them. Right in front of you is a calibrated Angor curse. It's almost as bad as the Cruciatus."

"Causes mental anguish," Henri said with a nod. "I know the one. Don't worry, I can handle it."

Then, wrenching out of Sirius' hold, Henri took a single step forward. His hands clenched into fists, his lips pressed tightly together as if to contain a moan. The skin bunched around Remus' eyes as he watched. After a long moment, Henri let out a breath and glanced back at them.

"It's okay," he assured them with a stiff smile. "You can double-check, but I don't think there's any more curses so long as you follow my steps. This one was designed to target only one person, which is why I chose it."

Remus glanced at Sirius. Fighting back nausea, Sirius nodded, and one after another they traced Henri's exact footsteps. Sirius had to put aside the relief he felt at not having to experience a reminder of his own anguish.

They approached the house cautiously, and Sirius grimaced when he saw the skin of a snake that was still nailed to the door. Raising his wand, he muttered a few spells to check the wards, and was surprised to find none. He swallowed before pushing the door open.

The old boards that made up the walls were haphazard, allowing shining streams of sunlight to sweep across the hovel and illuminating it just enough for them to see. Sitting on the table was a simple box. All of them stared at it, too afraid to move.

"It's too easy," whispered Remus.

"Maybe," murmured Sirius, "but I don't feel any more curses."

He reached out, flicked the lock, and opened the box. Inside rested an ornate ring with an obsidian stone set into it. On the stone was a strange symbol that Sirius thought he recognized from somewhere.

"Don't touch it!"

Startled, Sirius realized that Henri's hand was wrapped around his wrist, stopping Sirius from grabbing the ring.

"It has a compulsion on it," Henri continued, his voice hard. "Only those who truly grieve for the dead can feel it. People who would do anything to bring their loved ones back to life."

Sirius felt a painful tightness in his throat, and he stumbled back a step, letting Henri move closer to the table upon which the box sat so innocuously. Henri reached into his pouch and withdrew gloves which he put on before picking up the ring.

Then he turned the ring over three times.

Sirius gaped as the form of a young woman appeared in front of them. She wasn't transparent like a ghost, but was made up of faded colors. Noticing that her blonde hair was streaked with green, Sirius shot a look toward Henri. His suspicions were confirmed when Henri croaked out a single name.

"Melody."

"Henri," she replied softly, light green eyes, a pale version of Remus' own, full of sadness. "It's good to see you again."

He swallowed audibly. "I'm sorry…"

"The Muggles all lived," the apparition interrupted gently. "That's six lives to mine. The only thing I regret is that Andre saw it happen."

Henri winced, and the spectral form gave him a quivering smile. She lifted a hand, and Henri did the same, hovering over her phantom touch.

"Light a fire in the embers, Henri," she whispered as her form faded away. "Remember… We are survivors."

"I love you," he blurted out. "Until the end."

"Then, now, and forever," she promised before disappearing with an afterthought of, "Oh, and happy birthday."

Henri's hands gripped the ring. Then his shoulders drooped and he turned to the fire pit, where he carefully set down the ring. With a whispered, " _Praevelo_ ," a shield rose over the pit. He then pointed his wand at the ring, and within the shield appeared flames that took on the shapes of animals, devouring and destroying the ring until nothing remained but the glittering black stone.

 **~FoD~**

Henri was quiet for the rest of the time, and as soon as they arrived back at Grimmauld Place, he disappeared upstairs. Remus hesitated, clearly desiring to follow him, but was impeded by Sirius pulling him into the sitting room, where Sirius spelled the door locked before swinging around to face Remus.

"You didn't feel the compulsion."

There was a long silence as the accusation lingered between them.

"No," Remus admitted. "I think it's because I've had more time to accept James and Lily's deaths. I miss them," he added quickly, noting Sirius' expression, "I really do, but I know they'd rather Harry be alive than them."

He paused, reaching out to touch Sirius but then pulling back when Sirius stepped away.

"And…I haven't lost as much as you," Remus finished in a quiet voice, his hand dropping back to his side. "What happened here, Padfoot?"

Sirius kept his face carefully blank. "What do you mean?"

"This." Remus gestured between them. "You always startle unless you're the one to initiate contact. And don't think I didn't notice how protective of you James became in fifth-year. After that one incident, he wouldn't let alone anyone who offended you."

Sirius squared his shoulders, his mouth opening in a retort, but Remus pushed on.

"When you came back from Christmas, you had so many mood swings. You went from fairly happy to extremely angry so easily–"

"Every Black," Sirius began, only to be cut off.

"That was your excuse then, too." Remus met Sirius' eyes, his jaw set. "But I don't believe it anymore. See, I spoke to Andromeda, and she was extremely secretive about it. So what the fuck happened?"

For a long moment, Sirius stared at him, but Remus lifted his chin, refusing to be intimidated. Finally, the truth came out as a snarl. "I was tortured, okay?"

Remus flinched back, his face turning ashen. Sirius turned away from him, his breaths hitching. He felt naked, on display, and he wanted to hide from Remus' now pitying gaze. A sense of release had come with the admission, but he didn't want anyone's pity.

"My mother used the Cruciatus Curse on me, tried to get me to become a Death Eater," Sirius said through clenched teeth. "Might've happened, too, if not for…" He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a bitter laugh. "It was the only time my brother stood up to our parents. Said he'd take the Dark Mark if she let me go. That stupid git… He only became a Death Eater because of _me_."

Unbidden, an image of his fourteen-year-old brother came to mind, and he clamped his teeth shut. When he finally looked at Remus again, it was to see Remus still watching him with a sympathetic expression.

"Sirius…"

Feeling powerless, Sirius dropped into the chair behind himself, avoiding Remus' eyes. At a loss for words, Remus shook his head, and with shuffling footsteps made for the door. Sirius opened it for him with a wave of his hand. Once the door closed again, Sirius dropped his head into his hands and let out a shuddering breath. He could feel himself sinking into a dark mood once again.

"Uncle Sirius?"

He jumped at the term of address and twisted to look around at the window seat where Camellia sat curled up, having obviously been there the entire time. She slid down and walked toward him. Extending her hand, she revealed a flower; Andromeda had placed vases of them around the house in an effort to make it seem more cheerful. On her palm, the flower began to multiply.

"My mum says that happiness is like flowers," Camellia said. "It has a way of spreading, if you just let it."

His chest tightened painfully at her words. Reaching out slowly, he took one flower from her hand and, with a bit of aid from magic, gently put it in her hair. She touched the bright petals, looking momentarily surprised by his action, and then offered him a small, shy smile in return.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Henri didn't come out of his room for a few days. Occasionally Sirius would knock on the door, demanding entrance only to receive silence in return, until Dora dragged him away ordering him to leave Henri alone. A couple times Sirius also caught Remus hovering at the end of the hallway, watching the door to Henri's room uncertainly.

Then, about two weeks after they found and destroyed the Horcrux, Sirius passed by Henri's room in time to hear a woman yelling.

"NO, I WON'T BE QUIET, HENRI REMUS LUPIN! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE'VE BEEN? WE THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED! ANDRE SAID HE COULDN'T REACH YOU EITHER – _Don't tell me to calm down, Teddy_!"

Snickering to himself, Sirius continued on his way downstairs, his step a bit lighter. Shortly after Henri finally emerged from his room, his brown hair lank and unwashed, his clothes rumpled, and large, dark circles beneath his eyes, but he accepted the plate of toast Dora handed him. Unless she was at work, she had been sticking around the house, hoping Henri would recover soon.

"Sorry it's burnt," she said as Henri eyed the toast dubiously. "I'm not much better than Sirius at cooking."

"We've kind of been starving for the past few days," Sirius added lightly. "Remus can make some sandwiches and soups, but that gets boring after a little while. He also refused to let the kids help."

Henri's shoulders hunched inward.

"Enough about that," said Remus, watching Henri. "Camellia seemed very intent on baking a cake and was very put out when I said no."

Henri's head whipped up. "Wait, is today Halloween?"

Sirius felt his own smile drop at the reminder of the date. In Azkaban, at least, he wasn't ever aware of time passing, and so he didn't feel this bitterly sharp guilt every Halloween. Then again, he hadn't really needed it, as every time the Dementors passed his cell, he would be forced to remember finding two cold and still bodies, and Hagrid taking a squalling baby from him. Sirius had let Harry go, thinking that Dumbledore, who was reputed to be so intelligent, would be there to defend him after he caught Wormtail. Instead Dumbledore, using his power as the Chief Warlock, chose to secure a Death Eater a job at Hogwarts and didn't even try to get Sirius a trial.

A scrape of a chair jolted him from his thoughts as Henri rushed to the pantry.

"Do we have ingredients for a cake?" Henri called to them.

"I don't believe so," answered Remus, frowning. "That's why I told her no."

Henri poked his head out of the pantry. As his lank hair changed color, Sirius understood that the natural sandy brown color symbolized sadness, and orange must mean anxiousness.

"Can you get some?" Henri pleaded. "It's the twins' birthday and if I don't do something…"

"Well why didn't you say so!" cried Dora, leaping to her feet. "Come on Remus, we need to go shopping. Henri, what do they want? Cake flavor _and_ presents, I mean."

"We always do two separate cakes – cheesecake for Logan and a carrot one for Josh. And presents…" Henri paused and glanced at Sirius. "They've mentioned a puppy again…"

"Absolutely not," Sirius said flatly. "I am never doing that again."

"I meant a real puppy," Henri said quickly.

Remus and Dora exchanged a look.

"I suppose we could get one," said Remus almost reluctantly.

Sirius let his feet drop from the table to the floor and he straightened in his seat angrily.

"Hold on, you told me no when _I_ asked!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Because we were sixteen and living in a dorm room. Now you have a house. Dora and I will just have to take the dog on walks, I suppose, and we'll train it to, er, use the restroom in a crate or something."

"There's a backyard," said Henri, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of it.

"There is?" Dora's brows rose. "Where? I've never seen it."

Sirius gestured to a passage off the kitchen. "Through there. It's all overgrown with poisonous and illegal plants. Haven't you ever noticed it through the windows?"

"I thought it was your neighbor's," she admitted with a shrug.

"Unfortunately, all of this load of shit belongs to me."

"Better start clearing that backyard, then," Remus told Sirius humorously. "We're about to get a puppy."

Groaning, Sirius placed his arms on the table and settled his head on them. Later, though, he was grateful for the work Henri inflicted on him as they removed the tangles of plants. It took his mind off Halloween, and how Harry still hadn't answered his offer after two weeks of Sirius waiting. From his own experience with Mr. and Mrs. Potter taking him in, Sirius understood what Harry might be feeling, but it still rankled him. All he could do, though, was apply Dora's advice on Henri, and wait for Harry to come to him.

 **~FoD~**

Tension in the school was high as the first Quidditch match of the year drew closer. Cygnus refused to cancel the meetings for the Defense Club since the majority of the members weren't on the Quidditch teams, so Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Angelina, Ernie, and Cho were forced to miss some of the meetings when they had Quidditch practice.

Both Snape and McGonagall were showing quite a bit of interest in the upcoming game. At least McGonagall was fair, though, for she didn't make any of the classes do homework. Snape, however, reserved the Quidditch pitch so that the Gryffindor team had hardly got a chance to practice, and turned a deaf ear to the many reports of Slytherin attempts to hex Gryffindor players in the corridors. Nick physically had to restrain his brother when they found out Snape had insisted Alicia Spinnet had attempted a Hair-thickening Charm on herself despite fourteen eye-witnesses reporting to have seen the Slytherin Keeper, Miles Bletchley, hit her from behind with a jinx while she worked in the library.

"This is why Dad burned his portrait," Daniel muttered, crossing his arms.

Nick adjusted his glasses as he glanced up at the staff table. "Dad did that because Snape transferred his obsession from Grandpa's mum to Aunt Lily."

"Really?" Ron said, horrified.

"That's what Dad said," Nick answered with a shrug.

Combined with all of the bullying from the Slytherins, Ron was getting extremely nervous. He was not on the same level as Wood, mostly due to his own lack of confidence in himself. Harry thought Ron could make an amazing Quidditch player, though. Sometimes Ron had shown an extraordinary ability on par with a professional Keeper; one time he had hung one-handed from his broom and kicked the Quaffle so hard away from the goal hoop that it soared the length of the pitch and through the center hoop at the other end.

Despite this, Ron continued to display a severe case of anxiety, especially when Draco Malfoy imitated Ron dropping the Quaffle each time they saw each other. However, Malfoy's antics stopped at once one day when Juliet gave him a look of utmost disapproval. Harry almost laughed until he heard Orion whisper that Juliet was imitating Narcissa Malfoy's exact expression.

Juliet turned her attention to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Just ignore him," she said, waving a hand in the direction of Malfoy's retreating figure. "He's a right twat until after the war."

"Yeah, and Grandpa is _amazing_ at Quidditch," Orion added a bit proudly. "Or he was, before he got so old."

As a consolation to all of the complaints, Cygnus held a meeting the night before the match. Angelina warned that she didn't want any of her players tired for the game, so Cygnus did another demonstration. This one was Cygnus, Keyla, Andre, and Daniel up against Ry, Alphard, and Caelum. Harry watched them in awe.

"You don't mess with the _phlesi_ and his Knights," said Nick, watching avidly as well.

One of the Slytherins glanced toward him, her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. Harry recognized her as the one who had defied Snape, and for the first time he realized she looked a lot like Elizabeth, only with blonde hair and green eyes. For a moment, Harry wondered if the world truly hated him. _Is she their other grandmother?_

"Knights?" asked Ron.

"Yeah," Nick replied, and it took Harry a moment to realize that he was answering Ron, not Harry's unspoken question. "That's what my uncle calls Caelum and Alphard."

Harry returned his attention to the fight. Even with a smaller number, the latter three held their own extremely well and worked together seamlessly. Ry did the sneak attacks, Caelum used overwhelming strength in his spells, and Alphard defended them so that the other four seemed to always be on their toes. Finally Cygnus called it a draw, although Harry wondered if this was because Cygnus didn't want to lose.

The morning of the match Ron seemed slightly less queasy than Harry expected. Harry glanced at the Slytherin table as they passed, bracing himself for more jeering, but the Slytherins were oddly subdued. The reason became clear when Warrington opened his mouth and Pucey hissed at him.

"Don't, you idiot! You'll just be hexed by Black again."

This was followed with a glance at Keyla, who was watching the pair with narrowed eyes.

Unfortunately, Ron had caught the exchange as well. "What was I thinking?" he moaned as they sat down.

"Get a grip," said Harry sternly. "Look at that save you made with your foot the other day, even Fred and George said it was brilliant."

Ron grimaced. "It was just a fluke," he said miserably. "I slipped off my broom when none of you were looking and when I was trying to get back on I kicked the Quaffle by accident."

Momentarily stunned, Harry searched for the right thing to say when John joined the conversation.

"You'll be great," John stated, and then proceeded to give some advice that his grandfather had told him, which just boggled Harry's mind when he thought about it.

Hermione sat across from them, looking concerned.

"He's just nervous," Harry assured her.

"Am not," muttered Ron, and Harry hastily closed his mouth, fearing he might return Ron to his previous sullen mood.

"It's fine to be nervous," said Hermione bracingly. "I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous."

Oddly, it seemed to be the advice that Ron needed, for he perked up and was even able to eat some food. When he and Harry rose to head to the pitch, Hermione stood with them. She hesitated for a moment before her expression hardened into one of determination.

"Good luck, Ron," she said, rising on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. "And you, Harry."

Having not received the same sort of encouragement as Ron, Harry raised his eyebrows and smirked, which Hermione ignored. She turned back to the table, where John seemed to be shoveling cereal into his mouth to keep from laughing.

As they crossed the Great Hall, Ron touched the spot on his face where Hermione had kissed him, looking both amazed and befuddled.

"Shut up," he muttered when Harry nudged him.

"I didn't say anything," Harry responded, grinning.

Angelina had changed already and was talking to the rest of the team when they entered. They quickly changed into their robes, trying to ignore the chants and whistles from the stands. When they reached the pitch, the Slytherin team was standing waiting for them. As the Captains shook hands, Harry leaned over to Ron.

"Look at Crabbe and Goyle. What does that say about the caliber of the rest of their team?"

Ron glanced at the great hulking pair and let out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He firmed his shoulders. "I can do this."

As soon as Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the players shot into the air and the game began with the backdrop of Lee Jordan narrating.

"And it's Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me –"

Lee's commentary continued in much of the same vein until he suddenly paused. "What's that?"

A loud roar was coming from the Gryffindor stands. Harry laughed delightedly when he saw the people leading the chant. Caelum, Daniel, Juliet, Nick, and John wore hats shaped in lions' heads, and Andre was conducting them as they sang:

 _No matter how you sling_

 _Or say he's not anything_

 _He blocks all the rings_

 _Weasley is our King_

Harry swung around. At the end of the pitch, Ron hovered in front of the goals, shaking but determined. As Warrington hurtled the Quaffle, Ron launched himself at it, and the ball bounced off his fingertips, falling into Katie's surprised hands. Harry's heart soared along with the volume of the singing; the rest of Gryffindor had taken up the chant.

Realizing that he'd become distracted, Harry went back to looking for the Snitch. He passed Malfoy and bellowed at the top of his lungs:

"WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"

After a few more rounds of circling and dodging both players and Bludgers, Harry finally spotted the Snitch. He dived straight down, and in a matter of seconds Malfoy was beside him. They were even with each other, both stretching an arm out, groping – Harry's fingers closed around the tiny, struggling ball, and he felt Malfoy's fingernails scrape the back of his hand.

Harry pulled level, thrusting his hand with the Snitch into the air, and the roar of approval was deafening. Grinning, he turned to look at Ron –

WHAM.

Harry's breath left him as he tumbled to the ground. There was a loud, collective gasp from the crowd. Through the angry yells and jeering, Angelina's voice made it to him. She was hovering over him, looking frantic.

"Are you alright?"

"Course I am," he grunted, letting her pull him to his feet.

"It was that thug Crabbe, he whacked the Bludger at you the moment he saw you'd got the Snitch," she spat.

Malfoy snorted from nearby them. "We wrote our own song, it was much better suited for Weasley," he sneered. "Would you like to hear it? _Weasley was born in a bin_ …"

"Leave it," Angelina muttered as Harry turned to face Malfoy. "He's just a sore loser. Ron caught most of them, anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called as the rest of the team landed. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly – we wanted to sing about his mother, see –"

"Talk about sour grapes," said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look.

"We couldn't fit in useless loser either – for his father, you know –"

Fred, George, and Ron all three stiffened, seeming to realize what Malfoy was talking about, but before they could do anything, another voice interjected, speaking in a cold, carefully controlled tone.

"What did I tell you, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's face turned ashen and he looked around at Keyla. Her eyes were cold as she looked down on him. Behind her, Cygnus was approaching slowly, his own expression wary. Several people had descended from the stands to the ground, and they were watching the group eagerly. Cygnus' lips were pressed together in a slight grimace, his gaze ping-ponging between Keyla and Malfoy.

Glancing around at the crowd, Malfoy squared his shoulders and gave Keyla a stiff smile.

"My apologies, Black," he said. "I was just angry. It won't happen again."

Her head cocked to the side, her gaze continuing to probe him as she said, "Be sure that it doesn't."

He answered with a small nod and slowly made his way to the changing rooms with the rest of his team. The other students, disappointed that there was not going to be a fight, went back to celebrating.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Keyla.

"Merely reinforcing his training," she replied innocently.

Cygnus let out a long sigh. "She turned Grandpa Draco into a ferret and hexed every single Quidditch player when she caught them creating a song about Grandpa Ron," he explained. "Now everyone in Slytherin fears her."

"And you're smitten," Orion quipped.

Cygnus scowled at his brother while Keyla's lips pressed together. "I am not."

"Smitten?" Daniel turned away from congratulating Ron. "Who's smitten with who?"

" _Whom_ ," Juliet corrected him, but he waved her away, quirking an eyebrow and smiling at Orion, who opened his mouth only to be cut off by the arrival of Nick.

"Stop the one-eyebrow thing," Nick muttered to his brother. "You're the only one who can do it."

Harry felt a pinch of guilt. They must have inherited that inability from himself.

"Elizabeth, Caelum, and Addie can, too," Daniel pointed out, now switching which eyebrow he raised.

"Elizabeth is on a plane of her own for just about everything, and Caelum and Addie are Blacks," said Ry, joining them with Alphard. "What're we talking about?"

Keyla's gaze rose to the sky.

 _I am so glad I don't have siblings,_ Harry thought for perhaps the first time in his life.

"You won! You did it! You won!"

Suddenly Harry found himself knocked to the side. All he saw was a blur of bushy brown hair before Hermione threw herself into Ron's arms. Surprised, Ron stumbled back as he caught her, and then a wide, goofy grin spread across his face before he leaned down and kissed Hermione soundly on the mouth.

For a moment, it seemed that time froze around them. Then, as Hermione drew back, her eyes wide and her lips parted into a smile, John hooted and everyone began to cheer.

 **~FoD~**

"We won," Ron said, still in a daze. "Harry, we _won_."

"I know, mate," Harry repeated for the umpteenth time since the Gryffindor celebration had moved to the Common Room, but since he too hadn't stopped smiling, he couldn't be particularly irritated. "It was bloody spectacular."

They were sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, Hermione curled up beside Ron. Harry would have thought this would change the dynamic of their friendship, but so far, he didn't really feel that different with them. It was probably because he usually did things on his own while Ron and Hermione did quite a bit of worrying and fretting together over him.

Harry's smile faded. _Am I really that bad of a friend…?_

He was distracted from his thoughts by a shout.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Daniel bounded up to Harry with all of the energy of an excitable puppy, a wide grin stretching across his face. "Hagrid's back!"

"What?" Harry exclaimed, leaping up so quickly that he almost over-balanced.

"Hagrid's back! Come on, it's been ages since I've seen him!"

"He's still alive in your time?" Hermione asked as she disentangled herself from Ron.

Daniel bounced on his feet. "'Course he is. Nothin' can kill Hagrid. He's as bulletproof as McGonagall!"

"Bulletproof?" Ron repeated, his brow furrowing.

"It's a Muggle reference," Hermione explained before returning her attention to Daniel. "But we can't go now. It's almost curfew."

"Never mind that, let's go!" Daniel said, grabbing the back of Harry's collar and pulling him off the staircase to the boys' dormitory.

"But my cloak," Harry protested at the same time that Hermione said, "It's cold outside!"

"Invisibility charms, secret passages, and warming charms," Daniel said as he dragged Harry toward the portrait hole. "Sheesh. Are you wizards or not?"

They received quite a few odd looks as they clambered out of the portrait hole, but no one tried to stop them. People had gotten used to the family completely disregarding the rules, and since not a single person in Ry's family had been docked points outside of Snape's class, they were usually left alone by the other Gryffindors. Harry still didn't understand how they managed it.

Outside the Common Room, John, Nick, Juliet, Caelum, and Andre were waiting for them. Andre's arms were crossed and there were spots of color in his cheeks, and Harry recalled seeing Fred and George opening some contraband alcohol earlier. At least Andre didn't seem that tipsy.

"What about everyone else?" Hermione asked as Juliet applied Disillusion Spells on all of them.

"Can't overwhelm him all at once, can we?" said Daniel's disembodied voice.

" _Open._ "

Both Ron and Hermione's blurred outlines were momentarily visible as they jumped. At Nick's hiss, a section of wall had moved aside to reveal a secret passage. An empty feeling formed in the pit of Harry's stomach as he was forcibly reminded of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Come on," Daniel urged again.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the family through a series of interconnecting passages, most of which Harry had never used or even seen on the Marauder's Map. When Ron expressed wonder at that, Nick informed them that in the future, James and Sirius had done quite a bit of exploring to adapt the map, and that many of the passages had a secret mechanism where Parseltongue was required to open it.

Finally, they reached the Entrance Hall, and after Daniel had shone a light across the floor to make sure Mrs. Norris wasn't there, they crept out into the silent, snowy grounds. A small weight of worry lifted from Harry's chest when he saw little golden squares of light ahead and smoke coiling up from Hagrid's chimney. He led the way across the snow to the large hut, where he knocked insistently on the wooden front door. Immediately a dog began barking from inside.

 _If Fang is here, then so is Hagrid,_ Harry hoped.

"Hagrid, it's us!" he called through the keyhole.

He held his breath until he heard Hagrid's voice answer him, and then Harry's heart leaped with joy.

"Shoulda known!" Hagrid chuckled. "Bin home three seconds… Out the way, Fang… _Out the way_ , yeh dozy dog..."

Then Hagrid opened the door and Hermione screamed.

"Merlin's beard, keep it down!" said Hagrid hastily, staring wildly over their heads. "Under that cloak, are yeh? Well, get in, get in!"

His eyes widened as more than three people squeezed past him into the house. When Juliet removed the invisibility charms, Hagrid's brow wrinkled and he shot a look of confusion toward Harry.

"Er, who are yeh?"

"They're exchange students," Harry said quickly. "Hagrid, meet Nick, John, Andre, Caelum, Daniel, and Juliet. They're friends of ours."

Nick was looking up at Hagrid, who was covered in blood and bruises, with a clinical fascination. "What _happened_?"

"Nuthin'," Hagrid responded shortly. "Want a cuppa?"

Ron's eyes narrowed. "Come off it, you're in a right state!"

"You can trust us," Hermione said earnestly.

Ignoring them, Hagrid picked up green steak and slapped it over the left side of his face. "Tha's better. It helps with the stingin', yeh know."

Harry crossed his arms. "So are you going to tell us what's happened to you?" he demanded.

"Can', Harry. Top secret. More'n me job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Harry exchanged a glance with his friends. They had discussed what might have happened to Hagrid, and at once, they all knew their theory was correct.

"Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?" asked Hermione quietly.

Hagrid startled so badly that he nearly dropped the steak. "Giants? Who said anythin' abou' giants?"

"We guessed," Hermione admitted.

Looking irritated, Hagrid threw the steak onto the table again and strode back to the kettle, which was now whistling. "Never known kids like you three fer knowin' more'n yeh oughta," he muttered. "An' I'm not complimentin' yeh, neither. Nosy, some'd call it. Interferin'."

"It's a Potter thing," Daniel piped up.

Hagrid glared at him, but the massive beard twitched as if he wanted to smile. "Aye, that it is. Worse'n yer father yeh are, Harry."

Harry grinned sheepishly even while warmth radiated through his body.

They discussed Hagrid's journey with Madame Maxine and how their efforts to win over the giants had become moot when the Death Eaters engineered an uprising. Hagrid, Madame Maxine, and Hagrid's newly found half-brother, Grawp, had been forced to flee.

Then there was a loud rapping at the door. Hermione gasped; her mug slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor, making Fang yelp. Through the window, they could the shadow of somebody small and squat.

"Quickly, get over here!" Juliet hissed.

She, Hermione, and Andre started rapping the others hard on the head with their wands. As the strange feeling of the Disillusionment Spell covered him again, someone grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him into the corner, where he huddled with the others.

"Our mugs!" gasped Hermione.

" _Evanesco,_ " Andre said quickly, and the cluster of mugs disappeared.

Once everyone was hidden, Hagrid cautiously opened the door. Professor Umbridge stood there.

"Hello," she said loudly with a large, forced smile. "Are you Hagrid?"

"Er — I don' want ter be rude," said Hagrid, staring at her, "but who the ruddy hell are you?"

"My name is Dolores Umbridge," she replied with the same fake sweetness. "I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I wished to introduce myself to you as a fellow professor."

"Oh! Well then, it's nice ter meet yeh."

He stuck his large hand out, which Umbridge ignored other than looking at in disdain. Her eyes narrowed.

"What has happened to you? How did you sustain those injuries?"

Hagrid removed the dragon steak from his face. "Oh, I… had a bit of an accident," he said lamely. "I tripped. Over… over a friends broomstick. I don' fly, meself. Well, look at the size o' me, I don' reckon there's a broomstick that'd —"

She cut across his rambling. "Where have you been? Term started more than two months ago. Another teacher has had to cover your classes. None of your colleagues have been able to give me any information as to your whereabouts. You left no address. Where have you —"

Umbridge broke off suddenly, shuddering. Hagrid frowned and glanced toward the corner where Harry stood with the others as Umbridge looked around herself, blinking rapidly.

"Er, yeh – yeh were about ter leave," Hagrid suggested uncertainly.

"Yes," she murmured. "Yes, I'll just be on my way now."

In a daze, Umbridge turned from the door. After the door closed, Hagrid pulled back the curtain to ascertain she was heading back to the castle before letting them know it was safe to remove the Disillusionment Spells.

"That weren't the Imperius Curse, were it?" he asked, eyeing the time travelers warily.

Caelum cleared his throat. "No, it was a more powerful Confundus Charm."

Ron starred at him. "I know I've said this before, but mate, how are you not in Slytherin?"

"I actually got the idea from a Gryffindor," said Caelum, glancing at Hermione, who frowned in confusion and shrugged when Ron looked questioningly at her.

Hagrid grunted, still looking suspicious. "You lot had better get back up to the castle."

Harry tried to think of a way to stall, but he knew that Hagrid was right and they needed to leave. On the walk back through the snow, he looked at the dark silhouettes of the trees in the Forbidden Forest and wondered why he felt like he was being watched.

* * *

 **AN:** Story idea based on this (half-formed) scene:

"We could say it was arranged."

"Right." Daphne nodded seriously. "As if we did not, in fact, get drunk together and then somehow ended up married in the same night. Nor did you ever see your girlfriend with that man-whore."

Harry's head whipped up. "Ginny isn't a whore!"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she said in a bored tone. "Anyway, I was referring to Smith, not the – not your girlfriend."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Sirius sat in his parents' bedroom, staring at a photograph that he'd found hidden inside the bedside table. The photo showed two boys as children, standing beside each other in formal clothing and holding hands. Sirius was surprised his mother kept any evidence of his existence at all, but then, he supposed that almost every parent loved their children, even if this one had been twisted. It probably also helped that the photo had been taken long before he went to Hogwarts and became more outspoken in his rebellion.

A knock sounded at the door, and Sirius cleared his throat before calling, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Remus answered, opening the door despite Sirius not giving him permission to enter. He gave a bow to Buckbeak, who nodded back before returning to eating a bucket of ferrets. "Emmeline is here for your check-up."

When Sirius made no movement to get up, Remus closed the door and walked toward where Sirius sat leaning against the wall; there was no comfortable place to sit in the room since Sirius had removed most of the furniture to make more space for Buckbeak. Grunting slightly, Remus sank down beside Sirius.

Sirius' gaze stayed on the picture in his hand. He and Regulus had been almost identical in appearance, except Regulus had the stature of a Seeker, and there was a hint of curls in his hair. In school, Sirius had heard the girls differentiate him and his brother by 'the handsome Black' and 'the pretty Black'. He'd teased Regulus about that when he had to go home for the summer break.

"It's alright to mourn him, you know," Remus said softly.

There was a hollowness inside Sirius' chest, and he had to swallow down a lump of emotion, his eyes prickling with tears.

"He tried to kill himself, once," he rasped. "Right after he turned sixteen in April – when he got the Dark Mark." He closed his eyes, remembering the fury that had flooded him when he saw the bandage covering his brother's left arm. "I wanted to – to _slaughter_ every single last Slytherin, then. But he said anything I did would only make it worse for him, and so I agreed to stop hexing them, at least, and James, of course, followed example when I told him."

"Sirius, you don't have to tell me…"

He shook his head. "No, you deserve an explanation." Sirius swallowed thickly. "We both know I was the one who persuaded James not to trust you – he'd do anything for me."

"You were brothers," murmured Remus.

"We were _like_ brothers," Sirius corrected. "Regulus was my brother and – and – fuck, Moony, why didn't he come to me for help?"

Tears began coursing down his face, then, and Remus seemed to move automatically, pulling Sirius into his arms. Sirius closed his eyes as he felt a longing so intense it manifested itself as an ache in his heart. With his eyes closed, he was almost able to imagine it was James comforting him.

"I think this is why I fell in love with you," Remus sighed. "You blame yourself for everything."

Sirius huffed out a laugh into Remus' shoulder. "That's a fucked up reason."

"It is, isn't it?" Remus said as he stroked Sirius' hair.

"…Oh."

Unaware to both of them, the door had opened while they were hugging. Emmeline stood there, her gaze averted politely.

"It's not what it looks like," Remus said quickly, stopping her as she was about to back out of the room.

Her eyes narrowed, eyebrows pulling down in concern when Sirius pulled away from Remus. "I can see that," Emmeline replied, stepping closer.

"Hippogrff!" Sirius blurted out.

She quickly fell into a low bow toward Buckbuck, and upon receiving approval, turned back to Sirius with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, the Healer in me has to immediately ease the pain when I see someone crying."

"Understandable," said Remus, pushing himself to his feet. "Do you want to move locations or just do it here?"

Emmeline glanced at Buckbeak. "Perhaps a more… sanitary location would be best," she suggested.

"There's no place in this house that's clean," muttered Sirius.

Nevertheless, he led the way to his bedroom, where he sat down on the bed and let Emmeline run diagnostics on him. She examined his brittle nails and noted that his hair wasn't quite so thin, but her eyes tightened when she found out that he hadn't gained much weight. Sirius looked away. He knew that recovery was a long process, but in the past week he also hadn't been able to eat that much from his anxiety over Harry.

"Eat and take your potions," Emmeline said firmly. "If I had it my way, you'd get psychiatric treatment as well, but unfortunately that isn't an option. Is there a way for you to get sunlight, at least?"

"There's a small backyard here," said Remus. "We only recently cleared it out."

She turned a stern eye on him. "Make sure he goes outside for at least thirty minutes each day," she ordered.

"I will," Remus promised.

Emmeline collected her bag and informed them that she could see herself to the door. Remus went to follow her out, but Sirius called for him to wait. Remus turned back, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"I…" Sirius grimaced, unable to meet Remus' eyes. "I don't want to lead you along…"

"This better not be, 'Let the werewolf down easy,'" Remus said in a forcibly neutral tone, "or even worse, 'I'm developing feelings for you.'"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so, for either one."

"Well, that's easily remedied."

Crossing to Sirius, Remus bent down so that their faces were close to each other. Sirius looked at him blankly.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked in befuddlement.

"You're supposed to be trying to kiss me."

"Oh."

Sirius inched his face closer, but then he stopped. There was some kind of block in his mind that kept him from kissing Remus. Drawing back, Remus nodded to himself once decisively. Once again, Sirius found himself with the inability to meet Remus' eyes.

"You might be broken, Sirius," Remus said, "but you're not going to suddenly start liking men." He lightly touched Sirius' shoulder. "I think the kids are out in the yard right now. It'd be a good time to get those thirty minutes of sunlight."

With one last gentle, sad smile, Remus departed from the room. Sirius waited a long moment before getting up and heading downstairs.

Outside he found the children playing with the dog. Remus had been informed that the dog was some sort of terrier mix, predominantly Border and Wheaten, and that it would probably be a medium size. When the dog came up to Sirius and started sniffing at his ankles, he automatically bent down to start petting it.

"Her name is Maera," Josh said proudly. "Lo came up with it."

"Maera, eh?" said Sirius. "Does it mean anything?"

"Like the star," Logan explained as he settled on the ground. The puppy immediately scampered over to him. "Maera is another name for Procyon. It was in a book."

Sirius glanced at him, instantly wary. "You're not supposed to go in the library."

"Henri was with him," Andromeda assured him.

For the first time, Sirius noticed her sitting on the edge of the dysfunctional fountain. There was a fair-haired man beside her as well.

"Ted," he said, surprised. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Sirius," Ted replied. "Was Emmeline able to find you?"

Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Not until you get some cake in you," said Henri from behind him.

Sirius turned to see Henri holding two plates containing slices of chocolate cake. Baffled, he accepted one of them.

"I've been informed that I should feed you until you're the size of a cow," Henri said. "Also, happy belated birthday. I didn't know it was right before Ry's."

Sirius' stomach hardened as he mechanically took a bite of the cake. The last time he had celebrated his birthday was before James and Lily died. He'd been in Azkaban shortly after their deaths, barely aware of time passing or caring about his own age until that fateful day when Fudge gave him the newspaper. Then Sirius had been horrified to realize that Harry would soon be turning thirteen. That was what finally motivated him to escape the prison; revenge on Pettigrew was just icing on the cake compared to seeing Harry again, which was why Sirius had first sought out his godson.

 _I should tell him that,_ Sirius thought. _But when? Would I be pushing him?_

Realizing that he'd forgotten to thank Henri, Sirius was about to do that when he noticed something off about the yard.

"When did we get so many flowers?" he asked, indicating the new garden in the corner. Dora had plucked some and was weaving them into Camellia's dark hair.

"The flower girl did it," answered Ted.

"Camellia, dear, her name is Camellia," said Andromeda fondly. "It was quite amazing, actually. Almost as shocking as when Nymphadora first changed her coloring. I've never seen a child have such a good grasp on their magic."

"All of the Potter family is like that until they turn eleven and their magic settles," Henri said. "Ry was the worst of them, but then, he's also the heir."

Sirius paused in the midst of taking a bite of cake. "Heir? What do you mean by that? They aren't part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"They joined it after Grandpa defeated Voldemort," Henri explained. "Right of conquerors or something like that. But that stuff doesn't really matter anymore." He paused. "I don't think it even has any affect, for the most part."

"Good," Sirius muttered, stabbing his cake viciously. "The Sacred Families were a stupid idea in the first place. They can all die out."

Henri opened his mouth but was stopped short by a call from Annie. When he left to see what she wanted, Sirius was left to wonder what Henri had been about to say.

 **~Fod~**

As soon as Snape opened the classroom door, Harry grabbed Ry's arm and dragged him toward an open table. Alphard paused, his eyes narrowing, but a wave from Ry had him joining Caelum, so that the cousins were on one side of Harry and Ry's table, and Ron and Hermione were on the other side. Ron caught Harry's eye and nodded encouragingly. It had been Ron's plan to get Ry alone during their Potions lesson, since Alphard and Caelum were always with him otherwise.

"So," said Ry once Snape had given the instructions for the day, "how can I help you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry's jaw clenched so hard that it began to hurt. Instead of giving in to the urge to somehow hurt Ry, Harry settled on glaring at him.

"You can tell me why the hell I'm having these dreams," he said through gritted teeth.

Pausing in grinding up the roots, Ry glanced up at him, looking amused. "How should I know your dreams, Potter?" he said, pointing to himself for emphasis.

Without waiting for a response, Ry dumped the powdered roots into the cauldron and then grabbed the fairy wings.

"That's not on the ingredient list!" said Hermione quickly, and when Harry glanced at her, it was to see both she and Ron leaning toward them, obviously trying to listen to the conversation.

"I'm well aware of that," Ry responded as he dropped the wings into the potion. He shot a glance toward the board at the front, his lip curling. "It seems that once his precious book was confiscated, Snape forgot all of his special methods."

Ron frowned. "What book?"

"The one with notes by the Half-blood Prince," Alphard drawled, having overheard the question. "Rather pretentious, isn't it? And extremely similar to Riddle designing himself a title."

"The Half-blood Prince?" repeated Harry. "Who's that?"

Ry looked at him sidelong. "Well, let's see. Besides Voldemort, who do we know who's extremely melodramatic, a half-blood, and full of himself?"

"Snape would say Harry," Caelum mused, "but I'm inclined to say it's Snape himself."

"I must agree with you, dear cousin," said Alphard gravely.

"However," Ry continued, ignoring them, "some of those memories would show you that though Snape is quite adept at creating Dark Spells, he learned those potion tricks by eavesdropping on one James Potter, whose father was a master brewer. When Lily Evans turned Snape in to the teacher, his book was confiscated and never returned."

"How do you know that?" demanded Harry.

Ry gave him a droll look. "It's in the memories. If you had improved in the Mind Arts, then Elizabeth would have shown them to you already. Unfortunately, it seems you haven't been working very hard at your Occlumency training."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but another voice cut him off.

"Potter."

They both turned at the address, although the dark-skinned boy didn't seem to realize that both Harry and Ry bore the same name as he extended a vial toward Ry.

"You dropped this," the boy said in a bored tone.

"Thank you, Zabini," Ry replied, taking the vial.

Zabini said nothing more and continued on his way to the ingredients cabinet. Not bothered by Zabini's disinterest, Ry went back to carefully stirring his potion. Harry scowled at his own cauldron, wishing they could work together instead of separately. At least his potion skills had improved after taking Hermione's advice, although he still wouldn't call himself a good brewer.

Capping the vial, Harry concealed his smugness as he turned in his sample and Snape's mouth twisted into an ugly scowl. _Take that, you greasy git._

The bell rang just as Harry made it back to his seat, and picking up his bag, he followed the crowd making a beeline for the door. Not even the Slytherins seemed to like being trapped in the Potions classroom.

Ahead of him, Harry spotted light golden hair, and he was struck with an idea.

"Greengrass! Hey, Greengrass!"

At his call, almost everyone stopped to look at him. Greengrass turned to face him, her expression forbidding, and Harry's cheeks burned.

"Yes, Potter?" she said in a scathing tone.

"I, er, wanted to talk to you, er, alone," said Harry.

"No."

Then, with just that short, sharp response, she swung around and continued down the hallway. A few of the Slytherins lingered for a moment, looking curious and wary, before following her.

"Nice try, Potter," said Ry as he passed Harry.

Harry stared at him, wondering when Ry became so integrated into the Slytherins.

"What are you?" Harry asked quietly, aware that his own peers were still watching.

Ry flashed him a cold smile. "I already told you. I'm the _phlesi_." He leaned closer, his smile turning mocking. "Bow to me, peasant."

Snickering at Harry's expression, Ry went to join Alphard, who was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Harry watched them, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of that single word. He turned to Caelum, who minutely shook his head.

"Get better at the Mind Arts. Then you'll know."

 _Know_ what _?_ Harry wanted to scream, and from Ron and Hermione's expressions, they were just as frustrated as him.

They waited until everyone else had gone up the stairs before following the crowd toward the Great Hall for lunch, which meant that there were few spots left when they reached the Gryffindor table. Harry was already on edge, but when he saw that the only open space was next to Ginny's group, his stomach quivered. Neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to notice, though, as they sat down. It was only when he stayed lingering by the bench that Hermione looked up at him curiously.

"Harry, what are you – Oh…"

She had followed Harry's rather obtuse glance, and Ginny looked away from them just as quickly, a wide smile spreading across her face in response to something one of her friends said.

"What?" Ron asked as he forked some food onto his plate.

"I think we should take our lunch outside," said Hermione, glancing between him and Ginny.

Ron frowned momentarily, but after following her gaze, he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea." He stood and began to gather more food, mostly grabbing what could be eaten with their hands. "You like crumpets, don't you?"

"Er, yes, I do," Hermione said, startled.

"I like treacle tart," Harry added, smirking when Hermione shot him a glare.

When Ron deemed that they had enough food, they headed out of the hall to the large entrance doors. A familiar voice raised in anger, however, made all of them pause and exchange a common glance for them. Together, they moved to the annex that was used as a reception room when the first-years were about to be sorted.

"She must be helping him, I know she is! She's an impudent little Mudblood who –"

"Severus," Dumbledore said in a warning tone.

Snape stopped at once. There was a long, pregnant pause before he said stiffly, "I apologize, sir. It was merely a –"

"A slip of the tongue?" Dumbledore said almost idly, but there was an undercurrent to his voice that made Harry shiver. "It has been nearly twenty years, Severus, and yet you seem not to have learned your lesson at all." He sighed. "I have had several students come to me with complaints about your prejudice. It is getting quite hard to defend you."

Snape remained silent as Dumbledore continued.

"Threatening to kill a student's pet, Severus? Calling a girl ugly? I know I have given you a difficult task, but there is no need for such behavior. It has caused unease in Slytherin, and I fear what the repercussions might be for you."

"This is because of those Potter brats," Snape said in a shaking voice.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "They are much more powerful than you think, Severus, especially Ry Potter. I tried to enter his mind during dinner the other night, and found myself repulsed by an unnatural force. You must tread carefully, Severus."

There was more silence, and then after a tense, "As you say, Headmaster," from Snape, footsteps treaded toward the door. Instinctively, Harry tugged Ron and Hermione behind the wide staircase, and Ron, unprepared, startled so that food fell from his plate. Ignoring it, they hid in the shadows, watching as Snape exited the room. Snape sneered at the fish and chips on the floor and vanished it with a flick of his wand.

"Is it just me," said Ron once Snape was gone, "or do people around here have a disturbingly bad habit of having private conversations where anyone can hear them?"

"I'm not complaining," said Harry.

 **~Fod~**

The next evening, Ry was woken by a call from Caelum. Groggily he picked up the mirror and noted his cousin's expression of supreme satisfaction.

"Caelum?" Ry said through a yawn. "Why're you calling at…" He looked away from the mirror to cast a Tempus Charm. The numbers were blurred and he squinted at them. "Well after midnight."

"Is it? Happy birthday, then."

Ry stared at his cousin, nonplussed, and Caelum grinned.

"Oh, come on. We both know you stay up a lot later than this usually."

Ry blinked slowly. "When I'm studying, yeah. Otherwise I'm in bed by eleven. Alphard's the one who stays up until ungodly hours."

Caelum waved a hand carelessly. "Never mind that." He met Ry's eyes, his own gleaming, and grinned as he held up a small chunk of raw, bloody, green-tinged meat for Ry to see. "Remember that dragon blood I got from Hagrid? Well, with those crocodile tears from Zabini…"

Suddenly much more awake, Ry studied the vial Caelum held in his other hand. When their gazes met again, they shared anticipatory smiles.

"Only a month to go," Ry said, his grin widening as he imagined it.

* * *

 **AN:** Story prompt:

"Harry will always play the part of the hero. I knew that, and I was okay with it, but then James was born and… I couldn't do that to my son."

"Children always change everything," said Malfoy. "If it weren't for Scorpius, I never would have pulled myself together after Astoria died."

 _Requirements: Ginny/Draco. Harry and Ginny are divorced with shared custody of James, their only child; Harry never remarries nor has any more children._


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

No matter what her cousins, brother, and even parents hinted, Ivy Nott did not have romantic feelings for James Potter. She knew too well what sort of danger lay within James, just waiting for an opportunity to be released. Thus far, he was able to contain it, but soon he would lose all such sense of control. The obsidian amulet could do only so much in holding back the dakness.

"You're certain?" Ivy said quietly, her gaze lifting from the torn page in her hands to the younger girl in front of her.

Lily pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. At one point, Ivy thought James and Lily shared the same mouth shape, but she'd never seen Lily with a wolfish, predatory grin like the one James possessed.

It was strange how little Lily looked like James. He and Al could be identified as brothers through their thin faces and the infamous Potter mess affectionately called hair. Lily had also inherited unruly hair, though it appeared more windswept than wild, and just as bad of vision as her brothers, but the similarities ended there.

Ivy shook her head. She didn't know why she was even thinking of such things. _I do not like James,_ she reminded herself. She couldn't allow herself to feel anything deeper than friendship with him. It would hurt too much.

"I'm not sure," Lily admitted, startling Ivy out of her introspection. "It's not like I can ask Jamie, either. He would throw a shit-show and never let us do it." Her expression hardened, the green flecks in her hazel eyes appearing brighter for a moment. "Not that I'd let him stop me, if it really does work."

 _Don't let the name fool you,_ James had said in their fourth year, shortly after Lily was sorted into Gryffindor. _You might think Lily Luna is cute and innocent, but she's fierce as anything._

Ivy glanced back down at the page. It might as well have been in Gobbledygook to her; although she had picked up a few Parseltongue words, she couldn't read the language. She would have to trust Lily's translation.

"The problem is we _can't_ know if it would work," she murmured, even as she weighed the idea in her mind.

Lily folded her arms across her chest. "Look at it this way: we're either guaranteed to lose James, or there's a miniscule chance of saving him. Which would you choose?"

There was no doubt in Ivy's mind how she would answer.

"Save him, of course," she said with barely a pause. "But Lily, you're only thirteen –"

"Fourteen," said Lily. "I'll be fourteen in two weeks. And if Regulus can be a Knight, why can't I do this?"

Ivy took in a deep breath as her hands tightened on the page. She could point out so many flaws in Lily's logic – that Regulus was a Black; that she wouldn't let her own brother do this; that Lily didn't understand all of the risks – but she knew none of them would be heard. Instead, she exhaled and nodded slowly. The words seemed to be dragged out of her, mostly because she was imagining James' fury once he found out what they were planning.

"Alright. I'll help you."

Lily's face suddenly transformed as she beamed. "See, this is why I think you'd make a good sister-in-law," she said brightly, and Ivy wanted to groan.

 _Oh, bloody hell. Not another one._

 **~FoD~**

Ginny picked up the pamphlet Hermione had given her. She didn't think Harry had Attachment Disorder, at least not in its entirety, but certain elements fit his character well. His problems forming relationships had carried on into adulthood; that could easily be seen in his treatment of James.

 _Hypocrite,_ her mind whispered. _You abandoned James, too._

 _But I'm trying to make up for it,_ she told it sternly.

With a sigh, Ginny set the pamphlet down again and looked at the divorce papers. These had not been Hermione's idea. Hermione, like the wizarding public, would decry it if Ginny were to divorce Harry. Ron probably would, too, although Ginny didn't know how the rest of her family would react.

A familiar whooshing sound alerted her to Harry arriving through the Floo.

"Gin?" he called moments later.

A lump formed in her throat. Carefully, she put the papers back in their folder and hid the folder among others in her filing cabinet. She knew it would never happen. Her life was sealed to Harry's own, and her happiness with it.

"Gin, are you home?" Harry called again.

She felt her mouth twist into a sour expression. Over the years, she had come to deplore that nickname, which he had picked up from the _Cursed Child_. Harry had found it endearing; Ginny had found it repulsive. Gin was a liquor used for short-term happiness. She didn't like those implications.

"In the office, dear," she responded at last.

It didn't take long for him to appear in the doorway. Torn between wanting to scrutinize him and wanting to hide from his gaze, she averted her own eyes from him.

"Something wrong?" he questioned.

Ginny still didn't look at him. She found that there was no way to say this easily. No amount of reflecting could prepare her for this conversation.

"Do you love me, Harry?" she asked softly, the words feeling like lead as they fell from her mouth.

Through her eyelashes, she saw his eyes widen.

"What do you mean? Of course I do!" he said, his voice raised the same way James' did as a child.

A strange desire to laugh bubbled up inside her, but she clamped her lips against it. James had grown to be a far better liar than Harry. She held her hands together in her lap, her heart feeling like it was shrinking.

"I don't see how you can," she murmured. "I don't even like myself." She let out a breath. "Fourteen-year-old Ginny was so fierce and independent. She'd be disappointed in me right now."

"Gin –"

"I let this happen by being too passive," she continued over him. "Now we've lost our son, and we're about to lose Al and Lily, too. They've both chosen not to come home for Christmas."

Harry looked down and didn't answer. Her chest fluttered with some strange sensation that she couldn't identify.

"We're going to make this work, Harry," she said in as steady of a voice as she could manage. "But for that to happen, we're going to need counseling."

He stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he swallowed and nodded.

"If that's what you want," he said quietly.

Ginny gave him a quick, false smile. "I do," she said, hoping she sounded far more certain than she felt.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

Sirius Black was bored, and as his mother could confirm, a bored Sirius Black meant trouble. Sick of being inside the gloomy house, he had gone outside to chase the puppy, but Maera was too small to really be any fun. Then he had approached the front door, but as if sensing he was up to mischief, Molly arrived and told him to go wash up for lunch.

Now, he was laying on his unmade bed, contemplating the constellations painted on the ceiling. In his imagination, the lion was roaring at the dog, who stood with its tail between its legs.

"We've switched places, haven't we, Reg?" he murmured aloud.

In the eyes of everybody, including his fellow Order members, Sirius was just another Black, and that alone made him a criminal. Dumbledore wouldn't even allow him custody of Harry.

"It's for Harry's safety," Dumbledore had said, his eyes boring into Sirius when he asked yet again. "You understand that, don't you, Sirius?"

Sirius had nodded and slunk up the stairs, leaving Dumbledore to his private meeting with Snape. It was probably a good thing that all of his family was dead. They would be vastly disappointed in his submission. Even in his own house, Sirius had no control of his life. Lately it seemed he was failing at everything.

Suddenly Sirius sat up. He was the last Black of the main line, which meant Blackburn Hall belonged to him. Unlike Grimmauld Place, only someone of both Black blood and name could own the manor. None of his cousins, not even his Aunt Lucretia's children, would be able to enter the manor without his explicit permission.

A thin smile edged his lips. As soon as Molly left after lunch, he had a house to visit.

He stood and went to the joint bathroom between his and Regulus' old bedroom. After splashing his face with cold water, he examined his reflection. His hair hung in long, lank strands over his shoulders. Over the past two years, he had cut only sections of it off when it got stuck or too tangled. The result was something that would've had James gasping in horror and Marlene checking him into St. Mungo's asylum ward.

Gathering his hair into one fist, Sirius held it at the base of his neck and used a severing charm right below his hand. Long hairs fluttered to the floor. When he let go of the portion he was still holding, it just barely touched the tops of his shoulders.

He tried to smile at his reflection, but stopped when it revealed some of his rotten teeth. Instead he grimaced. His eyes were still sunken, the color dulled to a smoky gray, and his high cheekbones now looked angular because the skin was clinging to his face.

 _For Harry,_ he told himself. _You have to recover for Harry._

The tantalizing smell of lunch drew Sirius down to the kitchen. When he saw Molly instructing Dora, he almost turned back around, but she had already glanced over her shoulder at him. Her expression immediately closed and she turned back to the stove.

At that moment, the twins descended the stairs into the kitchen with Annie and Camellia following behind them. The puppy, still too small to climb the stairs on its own, was cuddled in Logan's arms. Logan carefully set Maera on the floor, and the puppy immediately began scampering around, sniffing at everything, including Molly's ankles. She looked down at the puppy in surprise, and then turned a glare on Sirius.

Ignoring her, Sirius began helping the children set the table. None of them seemed especially bothered by Molly's presence, and Annie even went up to offer her some help.

"Why don't you bring me the bowls, dear?" Molly suggested.

"Okay," Annie chirped, and did just that.

As she began ladling the soup, Molly glanced around the kitchen. "Where's Henri?"

"I'll go get him," Sirius said quickly, leaping to his feet.

He took the stairs two at a time, but stopped at the top, frowning. _A traditional Lupin would either be in the library or his room,_ he decided.

Since the library was closer, Sirius checked there first, and wasn't disappointed. Henri was slumped at one of the tables, head pillowed on his arms and mouth open to emit quiet snores. There was a lack of tension and stress that was usually present in Henri's face when he was awake.

Moving quietly and gently, Sirius pulled a book from beneath Henri's crossed arms. Out of curiosity, he checked the title, but didn't recognize it as one that he had read before. Then again, he couldn't claim to have read many books here, as he much preferred numbing his mind with alcohol.

"Henri? Henri, are you there?"

Sirius jumped so badly that he almost dropped the book. Fervently he searched Henri's pockets for the mirror, since even the loud voice seemed unable to wake Henri. When he pulled the mirror out, his jaw dropped open at the sight of the woman peering at him from it. Though her hair was more gray than brown now, it still remained a wild, bushy mess.

"Hermione?" Sirius said hesitantly.

She blinked, looking just as surprised. "Hello, Sirius. You look much better than I expected."

He touched his own face, feeling the bones that still stuck out. _What was I like before if this is good in comparison?_

"It's a good thing you answered, actually," said Hermione. "I wanted to talk to you about Harry."

With only a single name, she caught his attention again.

"What about him?" Sirius said urgently.

She paused, chewing on her words before speaking. "I just wanted to warn you that Harry is very… emotionally stunted. He doesn't entirely understand the concept of love. In the original timeline, when you died, he was devastated at first, and then… he just bottled it up. It led to a very unhealthy relationship with his family and several misunderstandings."

Sirius took a moment to absorb that. "I died in the war, didn't I?" he said quietly.

Avoiding his gaze, Hermione nodded.

"Was Harry there to see it?"

Again, she nodded.

Sirius blew out a breath. He glanced at Henri, who continued to slumber on, and noted the dark under eye bags that were like a permanent part of Henri now. "Then we'll have to make sure it doesn't happen this time."

 **FoD**

Ry flung his textbook aside and announced, "I'm going to look for him."

"I told you not to worry," Caelum responded irritably, not taking his eyes off the potion in front of him. "Alphie's fine. He probably just wants some time alone."

Pain in the back of the throat made Ry swallow hard and he looked away from the mirror. Lately Alphard had born an increasingly haunted look, and Ry suspected that Alphard was only now coming to terms with his father's death. Caelum, who'd lost his own mother, would easily be able to identify with that feeling.

 _I have to save them,_ Ry repeated to himself. It was the only thing that drove him at this point as he watched his family fall apart. Ry didn't want to know what would happen if anyone else died.

As Ry opened the curtains around his bed, Caelum's voice growled from the mirror, "Don't you dare."

"You can't tell me what to do," Ry said, pulling on his shoes and standing.

"I _can_ ," snapped Caelum. "It's the entire point of the Knight system."

Instead of answering, Ry tapped his wand on the mirror to end the call. He then tapped it again and called Alphard's name, but as expected, Alphard didn't respond. With a sigh, he shoved the mirror into his pocket and headed to the common room.

Malfoy's group was gathered on the couches in front of the fireplace. Pansy kept touching Malfoy's arm, and her laugh reached Ry in response to something Malfoy said. Theo Nott seemed to be ignoring the pair by focusing on a game of chess. Despite Crabbe and Goyle being teamed up together, they were losing by a drastic margin to Theo. _Says more about them than Grandpa._

Nearby this group was another trio. Blaise and Daphne were working on their homework, but Tracey paid no attention to her own essay as she spoke fast and non-stop while gesticulating for emphasis. It was only when Ry stood right in front of them that her words came to a pause.

"Have you seen Alphard?" he asked without preamble.

"Taciturn guy who makes Blaise look loquacious?" said Tracey. "Nope, haven't seen him."

"I talk," protested Blaise.

She reached over to pat his hand patronizingly. "Of course you do, sweetheart, and they are words of wisdom each time."

"Unlike your own," said Daphne wryly, making Tracey stick her tongue out at her. "I'm surprised you even know such big words as 'taciturn' and 'loquacious.'"

Ry's lips twitched, but he dropped the smile immediately when he saw Tracey tilt her head slightly, her gaze sliding between him and Daphne. His stomach clenched and he swallowed down bile. He had to clear his throat before he was able to speak.

"Right, I'll ask my cousin instead. Thanks for your help."

As he walked away, he heard Blaise murmur something intelligible, and had no interest in finding out if it was about him. He quickened his stride and reached the area where Addie sat with Morgan Zabini.

"Don't know," Addie said before Ry could question her. "I haven't seen him since breakfast. He was with Caelum then."

Ry sighed long and low. He had no idea where Alphard might hide in a castle full of secret places, and since Nick had the Marauder's Map, Ry couldn't check it. He didn't want to, either. The last time he'd looked at it, he saw Keyla and Cygnus' dots on top of each other in a broom closet.

"Maybe the library?" suggested Morgan.

Ry smiled at him. "Thanks, but Alphard's not the type to go there." He sighed again. "I suppose I'll have to walk around until I find him."

"Good luck," said Addie.

He waved in acknowledgement on his way to the disguised wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. Outside the hallway was empty, and he hissed, " _Open,_ " to the painting of a fen. There were far more secret passages protected by Parseltongue in the dungeons than anywhere else in the castle.

Deciding to check the Room of Requirement first, Ry travelled up to the seventh floor, where he then realized that even if Alphard was hiding in the room, Ry wouldn't be able to access it. Disappointed once again, he wandered around the seventh floor, trying to think of where he should check next when another idea struck him. He fingered the amulet around his neck, and had just taken it off when a nervous and hopeful voice broke into his thoughts.

"Harry?"

He spun around and his breath hitched at the sight of Ginny. She stood stiffly, with almost an air of readiness. Though their coloring was different, Ry could actually see a resemblance to Addie, and Ginny's brown eyes had somehow skipped a generation to Caelum.

 _'Thanks for the reminder,'_ Caelum grumbled in Ry's mind. _'Why the hell did you take the amulet off?'_

Ry was unable to respond because Ginny was speaking to him.

"I was hoping we could talk," she said as she moved forward. "You've been avoiding… What's that?"

Her gaze had fallen to the amulet made of obsidian. Ry quickly shoved it in his pocket but kept his hand on it. There was a tingling in his mind that was only barely kept in check by the amulet. Ry focused his gaze on a point over Ginny's shoulder.

"It's a necklace. My dad gave it to me," he replied.

She frowned. "Your dad…?" Then realization made her eyes widen. "Oh. Ry. Hello."

He injected a bit of wryness into his tone. "Hi."

Her shoulders dropped, but then she shook her head and straightened again, her face becoming stony with determination.

"Sorry about that," Ginny said with a somehow false smile. "You really do look a lot alike, you know."

Ry shuffled his feet and looked away from her. "It's the magic genes," he muttered. "Makes everyone look alike except for a few differences." He started to edge past her. "Anyway, I'll see you later…"

"Wait!"

Ginny's hand shot out to stop him, and Ry stepped back so quickly that he tripped over his own feet into the wall. Ginny gaped at him, and then retracted her arm to instead clutch at her stomach, her lips pinching into a lingering grimace as Ry backed away further. His heartbeat raced, his nerves were raw and the pounding in his head grew until he grabbed the amulet again.

 _'Bloody hell,'_ Alphard swore. _'Put the amulet back on and get out here. I'm by the lake.'_

 _'In the middle of winter?'_ It was impossible to change the volume of his voice in his mind, but an incredulous inflection was still able to be achieved.

 _'Get out of there!'_ Alphard commanded. _'You're unstable.'_ He paused and then gentled his tone. _'Do you really want to hurt her?'_

Ry forced himself to calm down and looked at Ginny, who was biting down on her bottom lip while staring at him. His heart twisted in his chest.

"Sorry," he said, smoothing his hair and forcing a smile. "What're you doing up here?"

"I live here," Ginny said bitingly, and it was only then that Ry realized how close he was to Gryffindor Tower.

 _'I didn't say to converse with her!'_

 _'I'm getting there!'_ Ry snapped.

Ginny's brow wrinkled, her expression shifting from injured anger to concern, and Ry spoke quickly.

"I, ah, I'm trying to find Alphard, so I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

He was already backing away and spun around, turning his back on her before she could respond. When he was around the corner, he slipped the amulet on again and immediately felt himself become steady. He blew out a somewhat shaky breath and then hurried to another secret passageway nearby the Room of Requirement. The slide led all the way down to the Entrance Hall, and Ry took only a moment to apply warming charms to his clothes before hurrying outside.

It had snowed the night before and the coolness somehow served to calm Ry's pulse and he breathed easier. The fresh snow crunched under his feet as he trudged toward the lake. Alphard laid in the sparkling white sheet on the hill, his limbs spread as he remained still. He opened his eyes as Ry's shadow fell over him.

"What are you doing?" Ry demanded.

There was a long pause before Alphard responded. "Freezing."

Ry huffed and threw himself down beside Alphard, who closed his eyes to shut the world out again. Except for letting his gaze wander over the landscape, Ry stayed still with his arms locked around his knees. He waited for Alphard to speak, but eventually the silence grew too oppressive and he had to fill it.

"Do you think it's easier to die than to kill?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ry regretted them. _Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did you ask that?_

"Yes," Alphard replied without opening his eyes.

Ry dropped his voice to a lower pitch, unable to stop himself from continuing. "He's just a kid, Alphie. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

At last, Alphard looked at him, and the pity in his gaze only made Ry feel guilty. He had come out here to comfort Alphard, and instead he was seeking comfort for himself. He opened his mouth, searching for something more heartening to say, but came up with nothing.

"Harry Potter the Second!"

It was a different voice that called his name this time, and it came from the mirror in his pocket. When he pulled it out, Elizabeth was staring at him. Her face was drained of color and her eyes appeared damp and overly bright.

"Harry…" she choked out. "Grandpa Arthur – Harry, they found his body last night."

Ry's heart pounded, and in time with it a single thought ran on repeat in his head. _It's my fault._

 **FoD**

There was no sound in the Gryffindor Common Room. Andre stood by the window, staring out at nothing. Unlike Harry and the others, he seemed immune to the cold. The rest of his family, bar those who weren't in Gryffindor, had drawn extra chairs closer to the fire.

At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Harry lifted his head to see Ron descending with Hermione following behind him. Harry stood, trying to ignore the hollowness in his own chest as Ron stopped about a foot away from him.

Ron looked down and fiddled with the strap of his bag. "Do – D'you wanna come with us?"

Harry swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. "No. No, I… You should be with your family."

"Mum wouldn't mind," Ron said in a lower voice. "Even if you don't marry Ginny, you're still part of the family. Please, Harry."

Clearing his throat again, Harry averted his gaze, an uncontrollable flush of heat spreading over his body. He was unable to respond, and was grateful for the distraction of Fred and George arriving downstairs. Ginny soon joined them, her stare vacant and tears silently tracking down her face. She barely even reacted when George wrapped an arm around her and guided her after Fred to the portrait hole.

Hermione rose onto her toes to kiss Ron goodbye. "We'll see you soon," she murmured to him, and Ron nodded slightly before following his siblings out into the hallway.

No one moved even after the Weasley family left. The rest of Gryffindor had kindly departed from the Common Room to give them room to grieve, but now Harry found himself wishing for a distraction from other people. The heavy silence was making him restless. He needed to do _something_ other than sit here, but he didn't know what.

"The kitchens!" Daniel blurted out.

Everyone stared at him, and then Nick nodded.

"Yeah, Great-Uncle Ron always says food is a good distraction."

Daniel grinned at his brother and then looked around at everyone else. "Well? D'you wanna go?"

"I'm in," said Juliet, standing and running a hand through her red hair as if it could erase the sadness from her visage.

Harry murmured in agreement, as did Hermione, and she even pulled John to his feet. Once outside the portrait hole, they paused as Nick took a piece of parchment from his pocket. Harry's eyes widened as the Marauder's Map was opened, but this one was much more extensive than his own version.

Daniel looked at the map and frowned. "What're Ry and Alphard doing?"

Shoving closer, Harry saw the dots of _Harry Potter_ and _Alphard Black_ hovering inside Snape's office. They seemed to be circling the dot that signified Snape. His stomach fluttering, Harry inexplicably found himself looking at Caelum for an answer, as did everyone else. Placing his hands in his pockets, Caelum only stared back at them emotionlessly.

Suddenly John huffed.

"Well if they were going to torture him, they could have asked for _my_ help."

"Torture?" yelped Hermione. "You can't hurt a teacher!"

Caelum turned dark eyes on her. "But a teacher can hurt his student?" he said in a voice devoid of emotion.

Hermione's mouth opened and closed.

"Cyg is there, too," Juliet murmured, pointing at her older brother's dot standing further down the corridor leading to Snape's office. Keyla was pacing directly in front of the door.

"Everyone forgets I'm part Zabini," John continued to mutter to himself.

Stepping forward, Caelum took the map from Nick's limp hands and shoved it into his own pocket. Then he turned and hissed at the wall before looking at them almost challengingly.

"Did you know about this?" Daniel demanded of Andre, who shook his head, his hair turning a chartreuse color. What that indicated, however, Harry didn't know.

"And I won't tell you, either," said Caelum grimly.

Nick's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Why not? This is our fight, too!"

Caelum spun to face him, his eyes blazing. "Do you realize who you sound like right now?" he said, his voice deepening with anger as he jabbed Nick in the chest. "Do you realize what it's like to stare in the mirror and see her eyes reflected back at you? Do you _want_ to be like Ginny Potter, Nick?"

"Oi!" Daniel shoved Caelum away as Nick stumbled back, hands jammed into his armpits and hugging himself. "He's only twelve. He doesn't get that stuff!"

Caelum's laugh had an edge to it that made the hair on the nape of Harry's neck stiffen. It reminded him of Sirius' laugh.

"What – What did Ginny do?" asked Hermione in a trembling voice.

"Nothing," Caelum bit out. "She's perfect, isn't she? Who cares if she hexes people who annoy her? They deserved it, right? It wasn't at all like when James Potter hexed people. Never mind that he was actually living in the middle of a war back then!"

"Caelum, stop it." Unexpectedly, it was Andre who spoke in a calming tone. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."

Shaking his head, Caelum stepped away from Andre's outstretched hand.

"You saw Melody die, and couldn't do anything to help her," he said in a more carefully controlled tone. "Imagine seeing it through her eyes. Imagine _feeling_ her dying. Then tell me I have no right to judge Ginny Potter."

He swung back to the secret passage. As they heard his footsteps stomp down the stairs, Hermione looked at the others, but before she even opened her mouth, Daniel shoved past her, dragging Nick behind him. The others followed until only Juliet remained, looking uncomfortable. She spoke haltingly.

"I don't really know what happened, but Aunt Ginny was sent to Azkaban." She pushed the hair out of her face and glanced at the open passage. "And Grandpa Ron said that what she did was unforgivable."

Then she disappeared down the stairs, leaving Harry and Hermione alone in the corridor. They looked at each other, wearing matching uneasy expressions.

"Ginny wouldn't kill anyone," said Harry, but a voice inside him wondered snidely, _Would she? It's not like you know her._

Hermione nodded slightly without speaking, but she pushed the hair out of her face in the same mannerism as Juliet, and something about the action made Harry doubt his own words even more. She, at least, had spent some time with Ginny when they stayed at the Burrow.

"What?" he pressed. "You know something. What is it?"

She grimaced slightly and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Hermione," he stressed.

With a sigh, she said hesitantly, "Ginny's dream has always been to become a professional Quidditch player. She _wants_ fame, Harry. I want to think the best of her, but someone like that... I don't know. Maybe fame changed her, especially what with being married to the Boy-Who-Lived."

A lump formed in Harry's throat. _If Ginny changed, it's because of me,_ he thought. Turning away, he led the way to the secret passage, ignoring Hermione's look of concern.

By the time they reached the kitchens, everyone else was gathered there, even Orion, Addie, and Elizabeth. The latter one watched Harry as he sat down, and her gaze was discomfiting, with a knowing flicker in her eyes. Reminded of Dumbledore's twinkling gaze, Harry kept his head down.

Addie shot him a quick glance before looking away again, and Harry had the feeling she had been told what had happened. No one really spoke as the house-elves eagerly served them. Even Hermione didn't comment, not even about the house-elves, which was the greatest indicator that something was amiss.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

The air was cold against Ry's exposed skin. He was grateful there was no breeze, or else he would have been shivering even more as he hurried toward the carriages. As he passed by them, he absently reached out to pet one of the thestrals, but hastily aborted the movement when he noticed Luna watching him.

 _Not me,_ Ry realized, as her eyes flicked past him. She was looking at Harry.

He stepped closer to her and asked, "Do you want to ride with us?"

Luna blinked at him. "Why?"

Taken aback by the question, Ry only stared back at her as he floundered for an answer. All he could come up with was, "Because I want you to."

She continued to stare at him and he strove not to fidget under her oddly protuberant gaze. At last she looked away from him, her breath creating a light fog in the air between them. Her expression was inexplicably blank.

"I don't like him, you know," she said.

It was Ry's turn to blink.

"What?"

"Harry," she clarified. "I'm not interested in him, so you don't have to worry about me getting in Ginny's way."

"I don't want them together, honestly," Ry admitted.

"It wouldn't be healthy, no," Luna agreed quietly. "I don't think Ginny can really understand him, even now that she's experienced loss. Her family is still whole for the most part."

Her gaze had drifted again, fixating on Draco Malfoy who was preening under the attention of Pansy. In a sudden flash, Ry recalled his brief meeting with Draco's father and how Lucius' silvery eyes had been glittering with malice. They were the same color as Luna's own eyes.

"Does he know?" asked Ry.

"That we're cousins?" Luna said and then shrugged. "I don't know. He'll never acknowledge it, even if he does know."

Ry took a moment to feel some relief. In actuality, he'd initially thought she and Draco were secret half-siblings, not cousins. He could handle them being cousins much better than the idea of Luna being Lucius' illegitimate daughter.

A shout of their names caught his attention. Caelum was waving at them from the window of a carriage.

"Hurry up!" Caelum called.

Looking at Luna, Ry tilted his head in the direction of his cousin and asked with a smile, "Shall we?"

Her expression was pensive.

"I've never had friends to sit with before," she said, biting her lip.

Ry barely concealed a wince. He forgot, sometimes, that the people he knew in the future were currently teenagers like himself. This version of Luna lacked confidence and social graces.

"Then we'll have to fix that, won't we?" he said, his smile more forced this time.

He offered a hand to her and Luna looked at it, her brows drawn together. When he wiggled his fingers, she slowly lifted her gaze to him, her eyes clouded with confusion. She seemed to genuinely not understand the offer of friendship, and Ry had never felt more pity for a person. She reminded him of his sister, only Luna was even worse off because she didn't have a family to rely on.

"Come on," he said gently, using the same tone he would with Elizabeth. "We have chocolate."

That seemed to be the magic word, for she grasped his hand and let him tug her toward the carriage. As they pushed through the crowd, he felt his sister fall into step beside him, and looked at her inquisitively.

"Logan and Josh were excited about something. They said it'd make us happy again."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Knowing them, they've adopted five dogs and want to share all of the fluffy love."

"Adoption is a wonderful thing," said Luna.

"It certainly is," Ry agreed.

 **FoD**

During the summer, when he'd initially learned that Harry would be coming to live with him, Sirius had been too excited to think straight. That had soon turned to frustration when Dumbledore delayed Harry's removal from the Dursley residence, especially when he found out that the only reason that Dumbledore was allowing it was because Harry had been attacked, but even that couldn't really dampen Sirius' eagerness to see his godson again.

Now, however, Sirius was far more conflicted. He couldn't even deal with his own grief, and he didn't know how he was supposed to help Harry, either. Finding Dora bent over a scroll was a good reprieve from his worry.

"What are you doing?" asked Sirius, taking the seat across from her and leaning forward, eager for a distraction.

"Compiling a list of all of the kids' full names," Dora answered. "The other day I wanted to yell at Henri, but without the middle name, it didn't come out as well."

"Oh, that one's Remus," said Sirius. "Ry's is James, by the way. Apparently they were lacking on originality that time around."

Dora's hand moved up the scroll to fill in those two names. "So Logan Edward – poor sod, L.E.P. kind of looks like leper – Joshua Christopher, Camellia Skylar… don't have Annie's name yet… Andre William, did you know he's named for my mum? They really _do_ lack creativity…"

"You named your son Teddy," Sirius pointed out.

"I did?" she said, surprised. "Henri's been trying to keep those sorts of things secret for some reason. He won't even tell me which of the Weasley boys is his grandfather." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Well, Teddy is a good name. Much better than Nymphadora."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "Andre William, you said? This might be a shot in the dark, but I'm pretty sure it's Bill Weasley, then."

Dora opened her mouth then stopped short, her expression once again becoming thoughtful. With an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, Sirius recalled the matchmaking that Molly had been doing for Dora and Bill. In the beginning, Sirius hadn't cared, but now, after knowing about Teddy Lupin, he was opposed to that particular couple simply for Remus' sake. _Family or friend,_ he thought bitterly. _Why do I always have to choose between them?_

"About that Polyjuice plan," said Dora, keeping her gaze on the parchment. "I know you want to go to the station with us, but Henri said he has only one vial left before the next batch is ready." She bit her lip and tapped her quill on the table. "Would you rather go to the funeral instead?"

That single word reverberated in Sirius' head. _Funeral_. The last one he had attended was that of his own girlfriend.

He had difficulty swallowing down the emotion that particular memory brought on him.

"Yeah," Sirius said quietly. "Yeah, that's a better idea."

She smiled, looking up at him through her eyelashes with no clue of the mental anguish she had accidentally wrought.

 **FoD**

Within moments of stepping on the train, a sinking feeling formed in Harry's stomach. He felt guilty that he was slightly excited to be going home. That he could use that word and actually mean it was a novelty to him. Somehow, home had come to mean wherever Sirius resided.

"Look, there's Neville," said Hermione.

Up ahead, Neville was waving to them, indicating that his compartment was open, and she strode forward to meet him. Harry tried to hide his resignation as he followed her. With a determination to make the best of the situation, Harry entered the compartment, and Neville helped him get the trunks onto the rack above the seats.

"You could have used magic, you know," a voice said from behind them. "It's allowed on the train."

Harry turned sharply, his mouth twisted into a sour expression. He faltered when he saw Ry's disheveled hair and the dark circles beneath Ry's eyes. Caelum, the one who had spoken, shifted almost protectively in front of Ry, who lightly rolled his eyes at the action.

"Hello," Neville said a bit nervously. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"I think I'll sit with my sister, actually." Ry eyed Harry, who looked away, and then turned a strained smile on Neville. "Thanks for the offer, though."

Instead of following Ry, Caelum grabbed ahold of Alphard's arm and dragged him into the compartment with him. Alphard grimaced slightly but sat beside Caelum anyway. Neville glanced at Harry, as if looking for reassurance that he'd made the right decision in his invitation. Unfortunately, it was a little late for that, and even though Harry would rather not be sharing Caelum and Alphard's company, he forced a smile.

Hermione cleared her throat and turned to Harry. "There's only a few Prefects today so we all have to do rounds, but I'll come back later."

"Okay," he said glumly.

The train ride was entirely silent, even when Hermione returned. Caelum spent the time staring out the window, and after a couple of hours, Alphard leaned his head on his cousin's shoulder and closed his eyes. By then, the silence had become uncomfortable and suffocating, and Neville, who had tried some small talk, eventually subsided, affected by the bleak mood around him.

"Why don't you get some sleep, too," Hermione suggested in a low tone to Harry.

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

 _I don't want another dream,_ he added silently to himself. The last one had only been brief since he barely slept, but he now had an irrational hatred of the name Billy. It caused him some conflicted feelings for Ron's oldest brother Bill, whose name was a bit too similar for comfort.

Hermione's eyebrows squeezed together but she made no further comment. Caelum, however, glanced at Harry with an inscrutable expression.

When they reached King's Cross Station, Neville hesitated before they left the compartment.

"Er, I just wanted you to know that I… I understand."

Then he fled before Harry could respond, pushing into the crowd of students. Harry stood there for a long moment, feeling horrible that he hadn't remembered Neville's own parents.

"Come on, Grandpa!" Daniel shouted as he passed the compartment.

Startled out of his reverie, Harry shook his head and followed the crowd off the train. He saw Ry's family gathered around two people and made his way toward them. Before he could reach them, however, Hermione pulled him off to the side.

"My parents are here, but they've cancelled the vacation so I can attend the funeral. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Harry swallowed and nodded, and then he stiffly returned her hug.

"Tell Ron I love him," she added before heading toward the barrier. Muggle parents were forced to wait on the other side unless a magical person helped them onto the platform.

He turned to face the group, most of whom looked impatient, and he realized he was the last one to arrive.

"Ready to go?" the woman asked. She looked so nondescript that Harry wouldn't have ever guessed this was Tonks. On the few occasions he'd met her, she always sported a vibrant shade of hair.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"We'll be taking the bus," the man said, tapping his wand on the trunk which rested at Harry's feet. "There. When we get to the house, you can enlarge it again. Just ask for help if you don't remember the spell."

Scowling, Harry stooped to pick up the trunk and shoved it into his pocket. He then gave Henri a flat look that conveyed exactly how he felt about the implication, but it went unnoticed by Henri, who was glancing around the platform warily.

"Let's go," Henri murmured to Tonks, who nodded and began leading the way toward the barrier.

 **FoD**

Once Henri and Dora had left to collect Harry and the others from the station, Sirius had locked himself in the library with a bottle of firewhiskey and a desire to be left alone. He should have known that Andromeda wouldn't allow it, though. She didn't know as many wards as he did, being only a daughter of the House of Black instead of the heir, but she could still break through most of them. When he felt the ward he'd put in place being dismantled, he lowered the bottle with a sigh.

"You could have just knocked," he said wryly as the door opened.

She raised a single eyebrow. "Would you have let me in?"

"We'll never know, will we?" Sirius returned.

Andromeda snorted, but there was a look in her eye he knew well. Every Black lived knowing their future was uncertain but certainly slight. Most of them died by the time they were sixty. It made Arthur Weasley's death even more sobering for both of them.

Suddenly overcome by grief, Sirius looked down, his eyes gritty from lack of sleep. He suddenly wished he was living on the run again. At least then, he never really had time to think about Marlene, James, and Lily. All three had died because of him.

"Love is a fortress, but that doesn't mean it protects you from hurt," Andromeda murmured, somehow guessing what he was thinking.

Sirius' laugh had a broken sound to it even to his own ears. "I thought Narcissa was the one who read poetry, not you."

She grinned, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Yes, well, she did make me read some of the drivel."

Shaking his head, Sirius conjured a glass and poured a shot into it. Andromeda took the glass, her lips quirking into another slight smile. She had been the one to introduce him to firewhiskey, claiming it was the only way she could get through a family gathering. Back then he had been twelve years old and unable to handle the drink, but now he was a seasoned champion.

"To the devil inside us all," Andromeda said, raising her glass in salute.

Sirius gave her a hard smile and tossed back his own shot. He slouched back in his seat, enjoying the burn of the alcohol as it spread through his body. Lazily, he asked, "So why are you here?"

"I can't visit my favorite cousin?" she said innocently.

"I happen to know how much you hate Evan Rosier, and Regulus is dead, so pardon me if I don't take that as a compliment."

Her gaze went distant. "Little Reggie," she said softly. "He was so much quieter than you that I usually forgot him."

An ache formed in Sirius' chest. _Me, too,_ he wanted to say, but it wasn't entirely true. Until he'd run away from home, he'd mostly ignored his younger brother, but then Regulus saved him from their mother and that image replayed in Sirius' mind multiple times over. Now, when he thought of his brother, it was of a fourteen-year-old boy trying so hard to do the right thing.

He cleared his throat. "You didn't answer the question," he pointed out.

Andromeda sighed and put her glass down on the table.

"I'm here for multiple reasons," she admitted. "One was to check on you, although honestly it was third on my list. The other was to see Remus, but he's teaching the younger children right now."

"Yeah, Molly insisted they get some tutoring," said Sirius. "It's been a bit troublesome for him, though, because Ivy – that's the Potter twins' mother – insisted that she form the curriculum."

Andromeda's brows rose. "Ah, that explains it. Annie was demonstrating how to paralyze someone when I looked in the room."

Sirius took a moment to digest that piece of information. _No wonder Hermione was terrified of world domination._

"Why Remus, though?" he eventually asked.

"Much as I dislike it, he _is_ the grandfather of my great-grandchildren," Andromeda said. "Ted is refusing to acknowledge it, but I'm… Well, I suppose I should get to know Remus. So far, he hasn't made a good impression."

"What have you got against Remus?" Sirius demanded.

Andromeda took a long moment to respond, as if she were struggling to find the right words. Finally, she said in a low voice, "By the time you went to Azkaban, we hardly ever spoke. I knew you were part of the Order, and I didn't want you to put Nymphadora in danger. I was a mother, Sirius. My daughter was my first concern. Even if I wanted to save you, I couldn't do so without drawing attention to Nymphadora."

She paused to pull in a breath before releasing it. "But Remus… He knew you even better than I did. For him to think you capable of killing James…" She shook her head. "He abandoned you, Sirius, and even worse, he abandoned _Harry_ , a boy who lost all of his family in one go. If he marries my daughter, who's to say he won't abandon her, too?"

Sirius looked away from her. He wanted to deny the possibility, but something inside him stopped him from doing so. He searched for a way to divert the conversation so he wouldn't have to think about it.

"And the third reason?"

"Andre," she answered simply. "I want to meet him. If he and Henri are willing, I'd like them to come to our house for Christmas. You and Harry are invited too, of course."

"Dumbledore won't allow it," Sirius said, scowling.

She bared her teeth in a mockery of a smile. "Dumbledore can get the Kiss."

Having thought the same on numerous occasions, Sirius shared her unkind smile.

 **FoD**

Harry remained quiet and mostly unresponsive until they reached Grimmauld Place. As soon as he was over the threshold, he was enfolded in a warm embrace, and despite several eyes on them, Harry took a moment to bury his head in Sirius' chest.

"I missed you," Sirius murmured into his ear. Then, in a louder voice, he said, "Harry, I want you to meet my cousin, Andromeda. She's Dora's mother."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said politely once he'd recovered himself.

The woman smiled briefly at him, but then her attention turned to someone behind him. Her sharp features softened and she stepped forward. "You must be Andre," she said, her gaze wandering over him almost hungrily.

Andre blinked rapidly and then looked at his older brother for assistance. Instead of helping him, Henri shoved his younger brother forward. Andromeda let out a low laugh and pulled Andre into a hug, ignoring his small resistance. After a moment, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, and with a cry, Tonks leaped upon the two of them, pulling Henri into the huddle with her.

"Come on, we should let them get to know each other," Sirius said lightly, shepherding Harry further down the hallway, and the others followed.

Harry twisted around when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "Is that a puppy?" he asked, looking at the small ball of fur currently huddled in Ry's arms.

"Yes," Sirius muttered, scowling a little.

Harry looked up at his godfather, smiling. "I happen to like dogs."

For a moment, Sirius stared at him, and then he let out a bark-like laugh and reached out to ruffle Harry's hair. "They like you, too," he said with a wink, and once again, Harry felt a slight pinch of guilt for the heat radiating through his chest.


	17. Interlude 3

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.**

When James was about four, Harry found him alone in the backyard. They lived in Ottery St. Catchpole near Ginny's parents, so Harry had never been afraid of his children playing outside unsupervised. However, something about James standing there, a distant look in his eyes, unnerved Harry.

Before Harry reached him, James looked up at his father. By that time, his eyes were already a bright blue. The sight of them always made Harry wince. Sometimes, he had a hard time even meeting his son's gaze.

"Is something wrong?" he asked his son, looking around the yard.

James lowered his gaze to Harry's relief.

"I don't like the magic," he said.

The words made Harry's blood chill. From the moment he was born, Ginny claimed something was off about James' magic, but she'd been unable to explain it to Harry. When he'd brought it up to Ron, his friend had looked at him oddly and then told Harry not to worry about it. Harry hadn't until now, over four years later.

He crouched down next to his son. "The magic?" he repeated. "What don't you like about it?"

"It's not mine." James frowned down at his hands. "It's in me but it's not mine."

Then he looked at Harry again, a plaintiveness in his eyes. Unable to help himself, Harry blanched again, but then his fatherly instinct kicked in. He took ahold of his son's hands and inspected them.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong," he proclaimed. "I think you're just worrying about nothing. Do you know what that means?"

"The tickle monster?" James said after a moment.

"The tickle monster!" Harry cried and slid his fingers under James' armpits.

Afterward, though, he was still worried. _It's in me but it's not mine,_ echoed in Harry's head. He'd felt the same way when a shard of Voldemort's soul rested in him.

Not wanting to worry Ginny, he never told her about that day with James. In hindsight, that was a bad choice, but as he'd found out in their last session with the therapist, she'd never told him about James' ability to speak Parseltongue, either. Their marriage wasn't built on lies but secrets, and as it turned out, that was just as bad.

"There," Ginny announced suddenly.

Rousing himself from his thoughts, Harry looked at his wife, who was sat at the kitchen table as he cooked dinner. With a flourish, she tossed the scroll to him and he set aside the ladle to catch it. His brows rose when he saw the length of her letter.

"I doubt they'll read all of this," he said.

"This is for James," said Ginny. "I'll write another one for Al and Lily."

At his look of doubt, she crossed her arms and raised her chin.

"The therapist said to put _all_ of our feelings into it," she reminded him in a steely tone.

Harry shook his head. "That was the letter to _ourselves_." He waved the scroll at her. " _This_ is just supposed to ask if they'll come home for Christmas."

For a moment, her jaw remained tight. Then her expression crumpled, and the change from steadfast determination to pure remorse was so startling, Harry didn't know how to react at first. A small sniffle from her kicked his brain into action again, though. The therapist had also instructed Ginny to stop hiding her tears from Harry. Awkwardly, he took her into his arms and patted her on the back.

"There, there," he soothed. "I'm sure they will. They can't miss Christmas, now can they?"

"I just want him back," she said mournfully. "That's all I want for Christmas. I want my family back."

"And it'll happen," Harry promised, trying to put conviction into his words.

She sniffled again. "Even Teddy?"

"Even Teddy," said Harry. "Just you wait and see, everyone will be here and we'll all be happy again."

* * *

To his surprise, James agreed to meet him in Hogsmeade. He didn't come alone, though.

All three of Harry's children were sat in front of him, each making their displeasure known loud and clear. He had not expected Albus and Lily to accompany James. Their presence would make everything that much more difficult.

Not one of the children had accepted Harry's offer of a warm drink on the cold October day. James was leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes hooded. With his expression of carefully removed reserve, he looked like the perfect Slytherin.

"Well?" said Albus almost savagely. "Why'd you call us here?"

Tearing his gaze away from James, Harry looked at his younger two children. Lily's mouth was turned down and her fingers were tapping a steady rhythm on the table. Albus was fairly quivering with barely restrained energy.

"Well?" Albus demanded again, louder this time.

Harry cleared his throat. "Your mother and I –"

"You're getting divorced?" Lily said, horrified, her fingers freezing above the table.

Harry winced and James' gaze sharpened. Still James said nothing, though, and Harry didn't know what to think of that.

"No," Harry said, forcing his tone to remain calm. "I was going to say, we want you to come home for Christmas."

"Both of us?" Albus asked quietly.

"Yes," said Harry, and then, as Albus' eyes flashed, he hastily corrected, "You two and your brother. We want to celebrate Christmas as a family."

"I have a family," said James, speaking for the first time since they arrived. "It's not you."

Harry swallowed hard. _You deserve that,_ he reminded himself. What he'd said to James over the summer had been just as harsh.

"Al and I will be staying with James," Lily added, her jaw line hard and distinctive and reminding Harry so much of his mother. Her eyes were the same hazel color as his father's, too, and he couldn't help seeing his parents looking at him with disappointment from his daughter's face.

Glancing at Albus, Harry said softly, pleadingly, "Albus?"

"It's Al," he returned coldly. "And no, I won't be returning home. The Headmistress said we could stay at the castle, regardless of you giving permission."

With those words, Albus rose from the table and Lily immediately followed him. After a moment, James stood as well and looked down at Harry. His blue eyes, once bright as the sky, appeared cold and flat.

"Maybe in time, Al and Lily will forgive you," James said softly, though Harry heard him clearly over the noise of the crowd, "but I will die before then."

Then he turned and along with Albus and Lily, he made for the door, the crowd seeming to part for him to provide a path. As they neared the door, another group of students rose from a nearby table and followed them outside. Through the window, Harry saw Rose attach herself to Albus, Lily shaking her head to something Hugo said, and Scorpius running to catch up with James.

 _I have a family, and it's not you._

Self-loathing filled him as he watched them fade from view. Ginny was going to be drastically disappointed in him.


End file.
